


Happy Home, Happy Hearts

by BrownFoxx



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Carol loves Daryl, Caryl, Daryl loves Carol, Diners, F/M, House Hunting, Mandrea, Reality TV, Surprises
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-24
Updated: 2018-04-04
Packaged: 2019-04-07 12:54:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 33,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14081373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrownFoxx/pseuds/BrownFoxx
Summary: Carol's a divorced mom about to buy her first house on her own on a tight budget; a fixer upper that needs a little TLC.  Daryl's a lonely contractor who soon falls head over heels for his pretty new client.  Dating each other is against the rules (her own and his job's) but will they take a shot at love? AU CARYL romantic story about taking chances!





	1. Dining Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daryl stops for a bite to eat after work and likes what he sees...

It was late on a Friday night at Hillbilly’s, a small, family owned restaurant off the interstate just outside Woodbury, Georgia. Senoia, Georgia native and home improvement contractor, Daryl Dixon sat in his usual spot as of late; the rear, corner booth farthest from the door; while nursing his second glass of sweet iced tea. He responded to a text from his old friend Theodore ‘T-Dog’ Douglas, then read a few work emails on his cell phone while he waited for his order; a triple decker turkey club sandwich, onion rings and a slice of their prize winning peach pie, a la mode.

Daryl hadn't ever had to watch his weight; since childhood he'd been on the slim side, and now at 36 he was muscular and toned from years of performing manual labor but he still knew it was entirely too late to be eating such a large meal. He felt it was justified however; he’d worked the past 12 hours without having anything since breakfast, and that had only been a coffee and a couple of donuts early that morning. He could've taken a lunch break that afternoon but he hadn't, opting to finish the kitchen renovation job he was working on so that his crew could have the weekend off. When he finally left for the night, he knew he could've picked up some carryout food from any of the dozens of restaurants between the work site and the swanky downtown Atlanta penthouse condo he was temporarily renting, but he didn't want to eat alone at home, again. He was very lonely more often than not lately it seemed, and he wanted to eat out, yet he desperately wanted to avoid attracting any more unwanted attention than he'd already been getting lately, nearly everywhere he went, so after a quick shower he'd opted to hit up his new favorite spot, Hillbilly’s.

Hillbilly's was a perfect “hole in the wall” type of place and well off the beaten path of bustling, crowded Atlanta. The food was pretty good for diner fare and there was never much of a crowd, especially that late he’d been glad to find in the past few weeks he’d been patronizing the place and best of all, it was the LAST place anyone in their right mind would have expected to find a celebrity, which was right up Daryl's alley.

Just then the tiny bell tied to the door frame jingled alerting the hostess on duty that someone was entering and Daryl subtly hid his face with his menu as he scanned the perimeter. It was a habit he'd quickly adopted when he was out in public these days due to the overwhelming success of his and his two older brothers, Axel and Merle’s hit home and garden network TV series, Builder Brothers. He'd reluctantly removed his sunglasses when he'd entered the place but kept his trucker cap pulled down low over his dark, shaggy mane. He’d been raised to remove his hat when indoors, but he was trying his best to remain incognito as he counted down the moments until he got his hands on his late night meal. 

He glanced up at the door and saw that two truckers had come in to grab a bite. He felt relieved; highly doubting that those two rough looking characters had ever watched his popular TV series. Most of Builder Brothers’ fans were of the female persuasion in fact, and their adoration of the show’s stars, himself in particular he’d soon discovered, bordered on the extreme. He’d been making a good living doing home reno projects and constructing decks for years, but with the success of the show he’d suddenly come into more money than he knew what to do with and attention from more adoring women than he could ever hope to bang in one lifetime.

Beautiful women, every color of the rainbow from all nationalities and all walks of life from around the country (and the world it now seemed,) were bombarding him with fan mail, gifts, baked goods, nude pics and kinky sexual offers these days; he was flattered, and a bit tempted more often than not to get laid- he was LONG overdue in that department, but deep down it totally freaked him out sometimes. He’d been told since he was a teenager that he was good looking but he didn’t see it and couldn’t understand the hype. Daryl was a country boy who liked the simple things in life; quiet nights having a whiskey by the fireplace, home barbecues with family and friends, riding his motorcycle in the countryside, making love to a beautiful woman (which he had to admit he wished for A LOT more often lately, but it couldn’t be just anybody,) swimming in the lake beside his hunter’s cabin deep in the Senoia Woods and hunting wild game with his cross bow, and most of all, building and fixing things with his bare hands.

Home improvements and repairs came naturally to him; he’d always been handy with fixing cars and such, and when he graduated high school, his eldest brother Merle offered him a gig working for him part time at his small contracting firm while he went to college. Daryl took the job and got really good at carpentry and plumbing, and soon took a few classes on electrical and A/C & heating as well. He soon found that he loved gutting out rooms in old houses and making them functional again. He loved it so much that he dropped out of college and began working for Merle full time, as well as doing some work for his brother Axel as well, whose specialty was flipping cheap fixer upper houses for a profit at the time. One day the two elder Dixons got the idea to merge their companies and Dixon Real Estate & Contracting was born. They’d started small but soon business was booming and in just a few years years they went from having a small family business in Atlanta to one of the top ‘flipper’ real estate firms in the state of Georgia. Three years ago they were approached by the Southern Comfort TV network with the idea of a lifestyle program featuring the brothers helping locals on tight budgets buy their first homes and the show was a runaway success with ratings off the charts by the middle of the first season and the rest was history. They were just about to start filming the third season but since they’d stayed local, Daryl was finding it very hard to go anywhere lately without swarms of his female fans attacking him with requests for photos and autographs and more kinky sexual propositions than he could shake a stick at. He’d been in a few relationships and even married and divorced a few years back, and all he wanted was one good woman by his side that he could love and trust and build a home and family with of his own, and he’d gone out with a few, but he had yet to meet the next Mrs. Dixon; none quite did it for him as of yet.

There was one woman he had his eye on however; a least likely candidate in fact that he just couldn’t get his mind off of. In fact she was headed his way right at that moment with an arm full of food. Surprisingly it wasn’t one of his fans, or some other celebrity chick throwing herself at him to get into his bed and his wallet; of all women, it was his usual waitress at Hillbilly’s. For all his charisma, and understated sex appeal on the show deep down Daryl was about as shy as they come and he didn’t even know how to approach asking her out. Her name tag read Carol, and tonight was the fourth time she’d served him… yes, he’d been counting, and he was always looking forward to the next time seeing her when he’d finally get up the nerve to take his shot at asking her out. 

Carol. Just thinking about her made his nature rise and it didn’t help that she was approaching him with a big smile on her pretty face, and just looking at her made him want to devour something other than that turkey club sandwich, he thought to himself with a naughty smirk. Her blue eyes crinkled with a warm, sincere smile every time he came in on those late nights and he looked forward to her conversation and company, going so far as to request her specifically to wait on him. She looked to be about his age and was petite but shapely under her plain gray uniform dress. She wasn’t drop dead gorgeous in a traditional ‘Hollywood’ sort of way, but she wasn’t at all hard on the eyes either and Daryl Dixon liked what he saw. In fact, he thought that she was the most beautiful woman he’d met in ages. She seemed delicate to him… delicate yet strong and ladylike all at the same time was the best way he could describe her and all he wanted to do was wrap her up in his strong arms and hold her tight. 

He knew that she wasn’t married because her left ring finger was bare and he wanted to get to know her better. She had pretty blue eyes that closed up when she smiled, and a really short pixie cut that showed a tinge of silver at the temples that he thought was really appealing. She also had a small waist and womanly hips that he thought were beyond sexy, and he couldn’t help checking out her curvy legs every time she passed by to refill someone’s coffee or take a patron their check. Her tired smile told him that she worked entirely too hard and he wished he could ease her burdens, and would have if she’d only let him. In passing she’d revealed that she was working two jobs just to make ends meet, and he made it a point to tip her generously, easily doubling the cost of his entire meal, every time she waited on him. She had a sweet disposition and he longed to get to know her better and the best part was that she was clueless of who he was. 

They made small talk, and when Carol came back to the table a while later to see if his food was okay and to ask if he needed anything he shocked them both when he blurted out an invitation to get a coffee someplace sometime, outside of the diner. He looked hopeful but Carol quickly shut him down, blushing shyly and mumbling something about a boyfriend before scurrying into the back of the diner. Daryl played it off, but he felt crushed as he dropped the fifty dollar bill onto the table and darted out into the night, cranking up his bike and heading home earlier than he’d planned, feeling more defeated than he had in a long time. He needed to get to bed anyway; he had a busy morning ahead of him down at the studio; the new season’s show contestants would all be there to sign paperwork and meet the team. When he got in, he was certain he’d blown it for sure, but little did he know he’d be getting to know her better after all, and a lot sooner than he could’ve imagined.


	2. Reminiscing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carol reflects on her past and her future...

Meanwhile, 36 year old divorcee Carol Horvath was stunned that out of habit, she’d abruptly turned the handsome stranger down flat and after she lied about having a boyfriend it was too late to take it back. She was often hit on by the truckers in the diner, and she was so used to letting them down easy so that they wouldn’t give her a hard way to go about payment for their meals that she’d told Daryl the same flimsy excuse about having a boyfriend that she gave to all of the guys she met there trying to get into her pants. It happened so quickly that she barely registered what she’d said until she’d gotten to the back of the diner. When she came back out to explain herself he was gone.

She felt like kicking herself as she collected his money and began clearing the table. Noah, one of the teenaged bus boys came over just then to clear the table for her and Carol thanked him as she headed into the back to clock out a little early for the night; she had a lot on her mind anyway. That GORGEOUS man that she’d been salivating over for the past few weeks since he’d started popping into the diner some late nights had finally made a move and she’d shot him down. She’d been lusting and fantasizing over the guy, but she knew deep down that the last thing she needed was to get involved with anyone with all of her baggage. She just knew she looked wrecked from working all of the time and never taking care of herself, she had overprotective parents, two jobs, three kids under the age of 15 and was about to buy a freaking house on her own, and not to mention harbored a boatload of trust issues stemming from her abusive ex-husband, Ed. She didn’t want to saddle that poor, gorgeous, sweet, (did I mention GORGEOUS?) man down with any of her crap she was still working through. The more she thought about it the more it depressed her. She WANTED him; she couldn’t remember the last time a man had looked at her like that with passion in his eyes, not just lust; passion. He looked like he wanted to kiss her and it had made her mind go blank. 

She got into her car and just before she pulled off, Noah came running over to her. 

“Carol, your last customer left you this!” he said with a big grin.

“Thanks, babe. See ya next weekend,” she said as she took the folded bill from him and stuffed it into her apron pocket with the rest of her tips. When she got home she saw the $50 dollar bill folded in with her tips and she knew just where it had come from. ‘Maybe in another time or another place,’ she thought to herself as she kissed her three sleeping girls goodnight then got herself ready for bed. She was off from both the hospital and the diner that next morning… she had a big day ahead of her in her home buying process and little did she know that her possibly ‘another time’ with the sexy stranger at the diner was gonna come much sooner than she’d thought possible.

As she drifted off to sleep, Carol couldn’t stop thinking about the handsome guy at the diner. To take her mind off him, she tried to focus on the huge step she’d be taking in the morning and then her thoughts drifted back to where she’d come from and to how far she’d come. She was a 36 year old, happily divorced mother of three girls (14 year old twins Sophia and Lizzie & 10 year old Mika) and worked full time as a licensed practical nurse at Woodbury Nursing Home and part time as a waitress at Hillbilly’s Diner. She’d been working every hour of overtime she could and hoarding away every penny she could save for the past two years to set aside a decent down-payment to buy a house and a few months back had finally been approved for a home loan. She’d kept it a secret however; she wanted the house to be a big surprise. She and her daughters had been through hell and back before her divorce from Ed Peletier, and had moved back in with her parents, Dale and Irma Horvath, for a few months while she worked to save up enough money to get a place. She finally found an apartment in her hometown of Atlanta, but being away from her abusive ex made anywhere else seem like paradise on earth, and now looked forward to finding her dream home for her daughters and showing them that she was strong enough to do it on her own. 

Carol had been happy to give the girls the sole bedroom in the overpriced apartment she’d rented while she slept on the pull out couch in the tiny living room for the past year without complaint. Despite being on a loud and busy street and having a lack of real space to entertain (or barely maneuver around each other for that matter now that the twins were already taller than Carol and Mika was right behind them and steadily growing,) the apartment was close to Carol’s full time job and walking distance to Mika’s school, as well as a short bus ride to the twins’ new high school. Unfortunately Carol spent more money on that one bedroom apartment (and in the storage unit she was also renting to hold all of the furniture she’d bought a piece at a time for their ‘someday’ home,) than she would’ve EVER had to pay on a home mortgage, especially with the surprisingly reasonable prices of real estate in Georgia.

Carol, an Atlanta native, had gotten her LPN nursing certificate from the local community college after finishing high school and got a job working at Grady Hospital right after graduation. She LOVED being a nurse and enjoyed the satisfaction of knowing that she was helping people and giving back, and earned a decent salary. She moved up the ranks quickly and was a charge nurse in no time, making even better money, and had plans to return to school soon to get her RN. 

But then she met Ed Peletier one weekend while vacationing with friends on the Alabama Gulf shoreline. Ed thought that Carol was a knockout with her long auburn hair and sexy legs in the tiny red bikini she had on when they met at the beach and he was determined to have her. She thought that he was ruggedly built and handsome, and immediately fell for his impressive 6’2 inch height, his smoky gray eyes and his deep southern drawl that was somehow even more pronounced than her own. She later discovered that he was a native Alabaman which would explain his accent and his slightly slower cadence of speech. Carol was nuts over him and he was smitten with her and they stayed in touch and started dating soon after in a long-distance relationship. Ed lived in Cherokee County, Alabama, which sat right on the Alabama/Georgia state line so they weren’t too far apart; Cherokee was only about an hour and a half long drive from Atlanta and they always made time to see each other on the weekends. 

 

Ed was a sweetheart in the beginning of their relationship and before long, he proposed, insisting that Carol to move to Alabama to live with him. She was a nurse and figured that she could get a job anywhere so she agreed and they eloped. Her family and friends were all against the marriage because she hadn’t known Ed all that long but she uprooted her entire life to make him happy, believing strongly in the new love she’d found. 

 

Once in Alabama, Carol soon found a good paying job at a doctor’s office. Ed had a good job as well and was an affectionate and faithful husband for the first couple of years they were married, but once he lost his own job and started his wicked drinking habit he soon turned into a totally different person. Bringing babies into the marriage had been a HUGE mistake Carol realized too late, but she loved her twin daughters and later her third baby girl more than anything, and it was her love for them that gave her the strength to finally leave the man whose harsh verbal and physical abuse was only getting worse with time. 

When they were first married, Ed had a position as an assistant district manager for Governor’s, a large convenience store and gas station chain, but a few years later when the CEO of the company, Phillip Blake, was brought up on charges of misappropriation of company funds, the chain was sued for millions of dollars in a class action law suit and Ed lost his job. He’d loved that job because he got to travel and the pay was great, and he started drinking heavily to drown his sorrows, and the habit stuck.

Even after he ended up taking a position at the Sanctuary Brewery, he continued drinking because he hated the place and his boss, Joe Claimer, was an asshole. The pay was crappy, he had no clout whatsoever and there wasn’t any chance for advancement.

The brewery was only supposed to be a temporary gig for Ed, just until something better came along but he ended up staying on there after Carol got knocked up and he blamed her pregnancy for forcing him to have to stay at a job he hated, and was even angrier when she got pregnant again a few years later. The only thing he liked about working at the brewery was that he got huge discount on wine and spirits, and all the free beer he could drink to take home on the weekends so he took full advantage of the job’s sole perk and continued drinking heavily to drown his sorrows. 

Carol and Ed had made a decent living in the beginning; they were young with good paying jobs and no kids; they had money in the bank, they both had nice cars and were renting a beautiful penthouse apartment downtown, and were thinking about buying a house, but once Ed lost his job and started drinking, things quickly went downhill. He didn’t have any decision making power at work, so he wanted to completely control every aspect of his home life. He wanted Carol to quit her job so she’d be at home to cook and clean, tend to the brats on the way and be at his beck and call 24 hours a day, and when she told him they couldn’t possibly afford for her to stop working, he traded in her beautiful sports car without her permission for a used van for her to drive to eliminate her hefty car payment, and then he broke their lease at the penthouse without her consent and rented them a shabby double wide trailer in a cheap trailer park on the outskirts of town for next to nothing, arguing that they no longer had any big bills anymore so she could "quit that damned job."

Carol was incensed by his impulsive decision making but had little choice in the matter. There was no reasoning with him lately, and he’d begun to really scare her, so she went along, just to get along. Ed really wanted Carol to quit her job; he needed to know that she was in the house and under his thumb where he felt she belonged. His heavy drinking clouded his thoughts, attitude and judgment about everything. He craved control and seemingly everything she did or said had begun to irritate him immensely so he demanded that she do everything differently, from how she spoke to him, to the way she dressed and how she styled her hair. He suddenly didn’t like her wearing makeup or jewelry anymore. He demanded that she cut off the beautiful, long auburn red hair that he suddenly thought she was too vain about and he threw out all of her clothes that he now deemed were ‘too revealing.’ The very thought of other men looking at his pregnant wife and possibly taking her away from him made him fly into a rage and he just knew that the rich doctors at her job at the large physician’s office complex downtown probably made passes at her every day, and their pay scale only made a complete mockery his own now meager salary. 

He’d grown insanely jealous (probably stemming from his own new habit of screwing around) and insisted he was the man of the house and no wife of his was going to work while she was pregnant. Carol told him that she could work for at least another few months at least. She was surprisingly having a very easy first pregnancy with twins at that and they needed all the money they could get. She then made the fatal mistake of reminding him yet again that he was only making about a third of his old salary and she wanted the babies to have the best of everything. She worked all the overtime she could on the weekends so she could order expensive, matching bassinettes and she’d gotten the nursery painted and new carpet put into the trailer, as well as ordered a fancy double crib set at an upscale furniture store in Birmingham. Once she found out they were having two girls she’d also begun spending hundreds of dollars on French layettes for them consisting of beautiful, handmade baby clothes and linens, not to mention on nice maternity clothes for herself. 

Ed harbored a grudge against her for ‘insulting him’ by daring to mention his meager salary. He was livid over her spending habits but let her keep the baby items (less crap he’d have to buy, he reasoned) yet insisted that she return most of the maternity clothes. He then declared that he could support their family himself from that point on and began demanding daily that she put in notice at her job; the fact that she now made a lot more money than him was beyond embarrassing to him and he said he knew she was only working so much overtime to go shopping and make him feel bad. Carol didn’t really think he was serious about her quitting but when he actually BLOCKED her from walking out the door one morning a couple of weeks later, the argument that then ensued (which quickly escalated to a physical fight) told her that he meant business. She was in complete shock over his sudden, violent behavior, and she definitely couldn’t go in to work afterwards. She was pregnant with twins and showing, with a busted lip, a bruised cheek and two black eyes so she called and quit the job she loved, effective immediately, and that was only the beginning of the downward spiral. 

Ed was a functioning alcoholic; a mean drunk who worked all week then went on drunken benders on the weekends, keeping Carol on edge with his crazy, erratic mood swings and oft foul temper. The next several years were a nightmare, but with careful planning Carol was finally able to get herself and her girls the hell away from him. It wasn’t easy with no job and not many friends in the area who’d stuck around due to Ed alienating everyone from her, but thankfully she had a few faithful friends and relatives back home in Georgia who were willing to help.

After carefully planning Carol had pilfered enough money out of their meager savings account, little by little to be able to fill her car’s tank and rent a motel room for a couple of weeks at least until she could find a job someplace, and as soon as the girls were out of school on summer break, they stole away into the night while Ed was out cold in a drunken stupor and rented a cheap motel room off the interstate not too far away from her parents’ home back in Georgia. Carol called them the following morning and tearfully poured out the entire story and they told Carol to come home to stay for as long as she needed until she could get on her feet.

The Horvath’s immediately contacted Sherriff’s Deputy Rick Grimes, who promised he’d do all he could to keep Ed the hell away from Carol and her girls. Carol immediately filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences as well as filing formal abuse charges against Ed and got a restraining order against him as well and soon found Michonne Douglas, Esq., an attorney willing to help for very little money through the women’s help center she’d begun going to a few days a week for counseling. 

Not surprisingly Ed was only a bully toward his wife and daughters; deep down he was a coward concerning everyone else; he didn’t want any trouble WHATSOEVER from the cops so he reluctantly honored the restraining order and agreed to the divorce. He didn’t want to get canned from the job he now liked because he’d started getting along great with his boss, Joe, and he didn’t have too many real responsibilities AND most importantly he had access to all the free booze he could ever want, as well as because there was a steady stream of low class women there who thought that he was a real catch. 

He rationalized to himself that he didn’t want Carol anymore, and deep down he hadn’t, for years. She wasn’t the sexy, sassy redhead he’d married; he thought she’d let herself get old and gone gray way too soon, and since she acted nervous around him half the time he despised her for being so needy and weak (even though he’d been the one who’d forced her to quit her job, tried to crush her lively spirit and forced her to cut all her hair off and dress like a nun to prevent other men from looking at her.) Stress he’d caused had made her go gray but he was oblivious to the damage he’d caused. He didn’t care too much about the kids leaving either; the older they all got they were becoming just like their mother in his opinion; too quiet and withdrawn around him which was a major downer and he just didn’t understand it; even though he yelled at them often, he’d never laid a finger on any of them (deep, deep down he feared that Carol would’ve killed him in his sleep if he had, which she would’ve.) His clouded, drunken mind just couldn’t process that his own children were really afraid of him when he drank and despised him for how he’d treated their mother. Ed signed the divorce papers and offered no contest; he was glad they were gone. He now had the trailer to himself to drink in and openly bang his work sluts and truck stop hookers whenever he felt like it. He wasn’t happy about having to make child support payments, but since he didn’t earn all that much, he didn’t have to fork over too much. 

A couple of years had passed and things were really looking up for Carol. Since parents had let her and the girls move in temporarily she’d used the money she saved for the motel room on a nursing skills refresher course and got her practical nursing license reinstated. She found the job at the nursing home right away and before long was able to rent the apartment. She enrolled the girls in nearby schools, and as they all continued to heal they began to have big hopes for a bright future. She told her parents that she would NEVER forget their kindness in her time of need, and made sure to visit the family often.

Carol soon found the part time job at the diner which supplemented her savings. Her parents knew that she was saving up to get a house and the girls knew that their mother wanted to buy them a house once she got the money together but Carol had a HUGE secret that none of them knew about… she’d already gotten approval from the bank for a home loan and was looking to buy in the next couple of months! She occasionally took her daughters to open houses to get an idea of the kind of place they’d like to live in, but they thought it was only so that they could ‘dream.’

She’d told a few friends (mainly the Walsh’s---her childhood friend Lori and her husband Shane, former neighbors’ Otis and Patricia, and her co-worker at the nursing home, Jacqui,) that she was looking for a house, preferably a reasonably priced fixer-upper, and to keep their eyes open for her for any good deals they may have spotted in any of their neighborhoods, all of which she liked for different reasons and could see herself raising the girls in. Lori and Shane Walsh lived near the diner in Woodbury, a large, family friendly suburban neighborhood less than half an hour outside Atlanta, filled with spacious ‘cookie cutter’ Craftsman and split level rancher style houses complete with swimming pools and big backyards perfect for barbecues, and the town boasted a few of the best public schools in the area.

Patricia & Otis lived in Senoia, a quiet, rural town just down the road from Carol’s parents’ King County home, an area which mostly had farmhouses with acres of land around them, as well as horse stables situated on most of the properties. Jacqui on the other hand lived with her husband Morgan in Atlanta’s College Park area, where the classic Victorian townhouses and southern colonials were a bit more costly because it was a short drive outside downtown and was situated near the city’s colleges and universities and was well known for its nightlife and tourist attractions.

Aside from her bank loan approval, Carol had another secret. It was a BIG surprise that she had yet to reveal, but was soon to be known to everyone she cared for and she knew they’d be tickled pink when they found out about it. In addition to the home loan from the bank, she was getting a lot of extra help for the house search endeavor and surprisingly she had Jacqui of all people to thank for it. 

Jacqui and Morgan owned a beautifully restored, 3 bedroom Spanish colonial home in College Park with their 15 year old son Duane (who happened to be best friends with Lori’s son Carl, as well as a friend of Sophias & Lizzie’s from school,) and entertained there frequently, as well as redecorated often. Jacqui was a DIE HARD fan of the Southern Hospitality network’s home decorating channel and was an avid watcher of shows like House Flippers, Vacation Home Hunt, Vacation Home International, Mansion Passion, Décor Divas, and List It or Lose it; all featuring professional real estate agents and interior decorators working together to help home buyers get the places of their dreams in the US and around the world. 

Jacqui particularly loved the newest show on the network, The Builder Brothers, which featured a trio of Georgia born brothers, (Merle, Axle and Daryl Dixon,) whose specialty included rehabbing and restoring old houses and turning them into gems for first time buyers on a tight budget. The guests were local people, and the brothers were knowledgeable about renovations and repairs and did the work themselves along with their hand-picked team of local electricians, carpenters, painters and landscapers. They were also a part of the home buying process as well and were experts on homes in the Atlanta area in particular. Jacqui thought that show’s hosts were all charming in their own way, especially the youngest of the three brothers, Daryl, who was handy with a hammer and looked damned good in his ever present designer trucker caps, low riding jeans, boots and tool belt slung around his slim, sexy waist. 

Jacqui jokingly encouraged Carol to apply to be a show contestant on the upcoming season since she was looking to buy her first house. Carol hadn’t ever seen the show but reluctantly allowed Jacqui to make a short, impromptu video of her on her cell phone in the break room at the nursing home where they worked of all places, informing the show’s production team all about why she needed the Builder Brother’s help with buying her first home.

Carol forgot all about the video, but Jacqui had indeed sent it in, and a few months later she got the shock of a lifetime when Sasha Williams-Ford, the show’s producer, contacted her personally and asked her if she’d bought her house yet. Out of the thousands of videos entered to win a slot on the show’s much anticipated upcoming season, Carol’s entry was hand-picked by Sasha; she’d LOVED Carol’s witty and down to earth video and thought that she was a perfect candidate. Carol told her that she hadn’t gotten a house yet, and Sasha invited her to send in notarized verification of her mortgage loan approval, as well as proof of down-payment funds from her bank, proof of her current residence and employment status and location, and other pertinent demographic info so that she could be interviewed to be on the show. Carol initially thought it was all a big joke; she still hadn’t ever even watched the show but when she arrived at the Southern Hospitality network headquarters in Savannah she soon realized that it was for real. She’d finally made it a point to try to catch an episode but since she was always so tired from working so much she could never get all the way through to the second half of the show before falling asleep, just before the brother who handled the home renovations stepped in to do his magic, (so she had no CLUE that the customer she’d been lusting over at the diner was Daryl Dixon, top star of the show!) 

After getting the good news that she’d been selected for the show she was scheduled to return to the station to sign contracts and get scheduled for preliminary filming. 

Carol still didn’t know exactly what to expect on the first day she had to return to the studio but she was pleasantly surprised by the friendly staff and the impressive spread of catered food laid out for the show contestants. Carol was required to attend an all-day session, along with the 14 other contestants who’d been selected to each be featured on their own hour long episode of The Builder Brothers to be shown in the upcoming 15 episode season. They all had to meet with the show’s resident attorney, Andrea Harrison-Dixon Esq., who specialized in Georgia real estate law, and also happened to be the wife of Merle Dixon, the eldest of the trio of brothers who starred on the show. Carol was informed that due to the time frame of filming and production, she had 30 days to put in a bid for a house from the homes available through Dixon Brothers’ private Real Estate Company, and would be shown two or more other homes during filming as part of the shows’ format. All of the houses available for purchase were budget fixer uppers in various states of decline, however she would receive up to $100,000 in renovation costs to supplement whatever was left over from the cost of the house itself minus the total loan amount from her bank (staying well under budget was encouraged; the worse the house looked initially would only make the brother’s final product look that much better, thus boosting company sales and network advertisements.) Closing costs and a stipend for incidentals such as wardrobe and her travel would also be covered, in exchange for her confidentiality prior to filming and for the entire process to be handled by the Builder Brothers program & Dixon Brothers Real Estate Company.

That next morning, she was scheduled to meet with Axle Dixon to begin the process of finding her house!


	3. The Studio

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carol meets the Dixon brothers... (well... 2 out of the 3!)

By 7:30 am, Carol was already showered and dressed and making breakfast for the girls; she had to be down at the studio by 9:00 sharp. The twins were sleeping in as always on the weekends; they had plans to go swimming at Carl Grimes’ house that afternoon and Mika had a morning Girl Scouts meeting scheduled followed by horseback riding lessons out at Greene’s Horse Farm in the afternoon. Carol had arranged for her to ride with one of the other children in the troop who also had lessons that day; in fact it was Carl's mom, Lori Walsh. Carol’d hoped to slip out before anyone saw her; she was that excited about going house hunting and didn't want the girls to get suspicious, but she knew it wouldn’t happen... Mika, as always was already up, showered and dressed before everyone else, she didn't want to miss her Saturday morning cartoons.

 

“Hi Mom,” she sang, sampling a piece of bacon.

 

“Hello Sweetie,” Carol replied as she stirred shredded cheese into the scrambled eggs. “You look so pretty! I love your hair.”

 

“Thanks,” she replied with a big grin, proud as a peacock for braiding her long hair herself up into a ponytail on one side. She had on her scouts uniform, with all of her many badges on display. “You too,” she added hugging Carol around the waist and letting out a loud whistle.   
Carol knew her child well and could sense that she'd already smoked her over from head to toe. She rarely dressed up, and in her fitted olive green Capri pants, button up dress shirt, makeup, silver jewelry and a tall pair of tan leather wedge sandals it was obvious that she most certainly was not on her way to work at either the nursing home nor to the diner and was surprised that the most observant and outspoken of her three children hadn’t commented on her outfit. “Thanks! I put on a little makeup today. Is your bag all packed for your lesson?’ she then asked, quickly changing the subject.

 

“Yes ma’am, and I even polished up my riding boots.”

 

“Good girl. Mika baby don’t forget to pack a swimsuit also. Mrs. Walsh is gonna pick you up at nine-thirty for scouts and then after the meeting she’s gonna take you out to the farm for your lesson. You and Judith both have riding lessons after the scouts meeting. Then she’s gonna swing back by here and pick up your sisters so that you can all get in her pool, and I’m gonna get all three of you this evening from her house.” Lori Walsh had been friends with Carol since high school. She was also the mother of Carl Grimes, one of the twin’s friends from school; he was Lori’s son from her first marriage to Sheriff's Deputy Rick Grimes, who happened to be the new husband of Carol’s divorce lawyer, Michonne Douglas-Grimes.

 

“I know. My purple glitter bikini is already in my bag,” Mika giggled. “Judy’s wearing her pink one. She and I planned it all out last night on our cells.” Judith Walsh was Mika’s best friend on the planet. They were in the same class and in the same scout troop and they’d been talking about EVERYTHING all hours of the day and night, all summer long, now that they both had their own cellular phones.

 

“Well honey, I’m so sorry gonna miss your riding lesson today but mommy has to get on the road so that I won’t be late. I have to go to an... umm... appointment. Now you help yourself to some breakfast and make certain to wake your sisters up before you leave with Mrs. Walsh, and tell whomever gets up first to set the dead bolt and don’t you leave until one of them does it. I’ll call you a little later.”

 

“An appointment?” Mika asked with a raised brow. “As in a doctor’s appointment?”

 

“Something like that… But it’s nothing to worry about, sweetie, I promise. Its just a little check up so to speak.” Carol HATED telling the little white lie, but she refused to ruin the surprise.

 

“I see… It must be a handsome doctor! I figured you weren’t going to work in those high heels,” Mika said, eying her mother with a smirk and a wink. 

 

“You little stinker,” Carol cried, tickling Mika’s ribs causing the girl to explode into giggles. She then kissed her cheek with a smile, then grabbed her purse and darted out the door before the world’s smartest ten year old, could ask any more questions.

 

\------

 

Once Carol arrived at the Southern Comfort Channel’s Atlanta studio, she was given an ID badge and escorted to Andrea Harrison-Dixon, Esq.’s office to sign more contract paperwork. Then she was led to a large conference room where a few of the other show participants that she’d already met during the first meeting were enjoying a continental breakfast. Some of the original group was missing however, and she heard through the grapevine that those selected for season 3 had been further broken down into smaller groups so that several shots of them individually visiting different homes could be filmed on the same day. A little while later, Sasha Williams-Ford entered the room to the applause of everyone inside.

 

“Hello Season 3! The Builder Brothers team is happy you’re here and we appreciate you. Welcome to your first day of filming! As you know today you're gonna get to meet the brothers. Also as you probably noticed there are only five of you from the original group of fifteen here today. The others are scheduled to come in on Monday of next week and the rest on that following Saturday. You’ve been chosen to be filmed today because all of you present have very similar budgets and are interested in the same types of homes in the same areas. After breakfast you’ll be taken to makeup and then you will finally meet with Axle Dixon individually to film your intro and ‘wish lists’ segment where you tell your story then tell Ax about the type of house you’re interested in buying. Each of you will get about 30 minutes filming time for each of your intro segments and it will later be magically edited down to about five minutes for your episode. Then once all of you have filmed the intro scenes, you’ll each get to see a few homes on today’s pre-mapped agenda that fit your criteria. A van will take you to the neighborhoods to tour the homes individually with Axle, each house tour takes 30 or less tops, but will be edited down to less than ten minutes per house for your episode. Of course I’ve already actually gone over each of your checklists with him so he’ll play up those details during the tours. Remember he really is trying to sell you those houses. But don’t be nervous, Axle is a sweetheart, and don’t forget DO NOT be put off by the flaws of these homes. They don’t call them fixer uppers for nothing. Everything cosmetic and structural is going to be fixed as good as new by the end of this process at no cost to you aside from the price of the house itself. Now, once you’re out on the road it’s gonna be fast paced as you tour each house, and remember they're filming everything! Be honest about your concerns, and smile a lot for the cameras! Remember you're supposed to be having fun! You should all be done by six or so this evening if everyone stays on schedule. If you want one of the houses, let us know as soon s you decide to place a bid; if any of you decide to bid on the same house, there'll be a bidding war and the house will go to the highest bidder. Of course if you don’t bid on one of the houses you see today within the next two weeks you’ll have to be rescheduled to tour and film again next month but you only get three dates until we have to start scheduling for the actual closing segments and then schedule for the repairs and rehab work to be filmed in the next two months. Now have fun, happy house hunting and good luck!”

\-----  
They weren't selected in any particular order, and Carol ended up as the last to be filmed. She felt a bit nervous as she waited in the green room but when she finally met both Merle and Axle Dixon their friendly demeanor's made her feel more comfortable. Merle was loud and cursed like a sailor but Carol could easily tell that he was a teddy bear under his gruff exterior, and she was sure that Andrea had him wrapped firmly around her little finger. Axle on the other hand was beyond laid back. Carol had seen him the couple of times she'd tuned in. He was always on for the first 20 minutes of the program, and in person she couldn't help chuckling to herself at his facial hair and his choice of wardrobe. From the neck down he dressed like a hippie straight out of the 1960s, and from the neck up he looked like a Confederate war soldier with his mutton chops and old fashioned curled mustache. Unfortunately their baby brother Daryl was running late and wouldn't be able to make the meet and greet, (which caused more than a few curses from Merle,) and that news was also a huge disappointment to Carol's fellow female contestants. "What's the big deal with the youngest Dixon brother?" she asked. "We'll see him once our houses are being renovated, right?"

"Yeah, but the more I get to see him, the better! As if you've gotta ask?" one lady said dreamily.

"Actually I do," Carol replied. "What is he.. some kinda sex god or something?"

"That's putting it mildly, honey. Wait a minute... you've really never seen him before?" another contestants asked her in disbelief.

"How is that even possible, Carol?" another contestant interrupted. "I mean, you had to have watched the show before haven't you? Seen him sweating shirtless in the sun swinging his hammer in his sexy jeans with the tool belt dangling off his narrow waist..." she aadded fanning herself.

Carol laughed as she shook her head no. "I haven't! To be honest, a friend entered me in to be on the show. I never thought I'd win my slot in a million years. I've never seen an entire episode of Builder Brothers, believe it or not. I'd occasionally catch the first few minutes but never until the end. My coworker Jacqui is obsessed with the show and since she knew I needed help with getting a house she made me make my entry video and sent it in. This was all her idea, but here I am. So... does this Daryl Dixon guy look that good with his shirt off?"

"You'll see!" all three women chorused with knowing smirks.

A little while later, Carol was escorted to the stage area. There Axle Dixon sat and his calm, laid back demeanor immediately put her right back at ease. They then briefly went over the questions he was going to ask her. After they got comfortable on a large blue couch on the main stage, the show's intro music came on, and a set director pointed at Axle and mouthed "Action!"

Axle grinned big as anything for the cameras. "Howdy folks, welcome to tonight's episode of Builder Brothers! We flip houses and help first time buyers get the crib of their dreams! I'm Axle Dixon and tonight I have Ms. Carol Horvath here with me! Why don't you introduce yourself to our viewers Carol!"

Carol felt a bit nervous but made certain to look at the correct camera and smile. Thankfully she had cue cards to go by. "Hello out tthere I'm Carol Horvath, and I'm originally from right here in Atlanta and am an alumna of the Southwest Atlanta Community College. I'm a nurse and waitress on the side! I got divorced a few years back and am now I'm a proud single mom of 3 beautiful girls; my twins Sophia & Lizzie are 14 and Mika is 10. I enjoy swimming, cooking, sewing, painting and travelling. I also can speak Hungarian fluently; learned from my dad as a kid, and I also speak a little German... learned from my mom's side," she chuckled.

"A well rounded woman! My kinda lady! " Axle laughed. "So, Carol, what type of homes do ya like."

"Well I like the craftsman houses but I'm pretty partial to ranchers. Specifically split levels."

 

"Split level ranch it is!" Axle exclaimed as he jotted notes on a clipboard.

"And what are some things you'd like in the home?"

"Like I said I love to cook, so I'd love a big kitchen. And a club basement with a bar for entertaining, with a fireplace it possible.. I have three girls; two teens and one soon to be a teen so they'll need their own rooms if possible and at least 2 or more bathrooms. Oh and a pool!"

"And what about your room? The master suite?"

"Honestly I hadn't thought about it! A walk in closet... and an en suite bath I guess?"

"Jacuzzi?"

"Sure! Wait. Are you for real?"

"Sure am, darlin! Your wish is my command!: Axle added, jotting the words 'walk-in closet', 'en suite bath' and 'jacuzzi tub' down on his list. "Now for the toughest question of all. What's your maximum budget?"

"Its small because its based on my salary alone... I'm doing this all by myself. I only got approved for up to $160,000... but I'd like to stay as far under that as I can if possible. I've got two girls going off to college in three years so I'd like to keep my mortgage payments small." 

"$160K for a fixer upper here in Georgia is a gold mine, honey. I can definitely work with that! In fact I already have a few places in mind to show ya. Now you know we may not be able to check off all of your boxes but I'm gonna try. And keep an open mind when you see the homes we have up for bids because you also have an up to $100K renovation and decoration bonus, courtesy of the network and opur sponsors down at the Housewares Warehouse. And my baby brother can knock down walls and rebuild 'em back up any way you want."

"I didn't forget and thank you again!"

"Awww you're welcomed, honey! Now are ya ready to see some houses?"

"I sure am!"

"Good. Let's hit the road, darlin!"

The cameramen followed as Axel led her outside to the Builder Brothers van, and the director mouthed, "Cut," then gave both Axle and Carol a big thumbs up sign. Axle did a funny little jig dance that made Carol laugh. "Darlin ya did great! We got it in one take! You were the last to be filmed, so lets hit the road!"

The contestants were loaded onto the van and were taken to various properties around the Atlanta metropolitan area.


	4. Surprise!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daryl pines for Carol, then makes a surprising discovery...

On Saturday morning Daryl woke up with a throbbing headache. He’d drank a little too much the night before and by morning he was paying for it. He rolled over and dozed back off but before long he was awakened again, that time by the sound of the vacuum cleaner buzzing loudly in the living room. It startled him enough that he was on the verge of jumping up and going for his gun, just as he remembered that the housekeeping staff there let themselves in. It was a perk of the penthouse he was renting but it was still annoying at times. He was rarely in when they came; most Saturdays at that time of the morning he was out working on a rehab project. And that’s when it hit him that he was late. He’d been up half the night after he’d left Hillbilly’s diner, drinking and thinking about Carol and hadn’t finally dozed off until going on 3 am. He’d already worked over 50 hours that week and was so exhausted that he’d overslept that morning. He knew Merle was gonna give him hell for missing the meet and greet breakfast with some of the upcoming season guests but he didn’t care. He’d let Merle rant on and on about it as usual and he just tune him out like always; “besides,” he thought to himself, “it’s not like I’m gonna miss anything by getting there a little late.” He grumbled as he stumbled in to the shower.

When he emerged, dressed and ready to roll, the housekeepers on duty were gone and the penthouse was as neat as a pin. Daryl grabbed a bottle of juice and a muffin to go then headed out, opting to take his most recent toy, his black Suzuki Hayabusa racing motorcycle down to the station.

When he arrived, all of the new show contestants were gone, and as expected, Merle got all pissy about Daryl missing the meet and greet. Daryl let him go on, then went to his office to write up an invoice on the work he’d gotten done on the house he’d worked on the day before. He then left for the day, feeling dejected. He still had Carol on his mind, but what could he do? She’d told him she had a boyfriend. Still, he had half a mind to go back down to the diner, just to catch a glimpse of her, but decided against it. The last thing he wanted was for her to think he was some kind of a stalker who couldn’t take no for an answer so he decided against it. Live and let live was his motto. He knew he’d get over her sooner or later. He then thought of her smile, and remembered how truly lonely he’d felt over the last few months, and knew it wasn’t going to be so easy… even if it had ended before it ever started.

A few days passed, and Daryl couldn’t stop thinking about Carol, but he had yet to step foot back in Hillbilly’s, opting to order delivery on the nights he didn’t feel like cooking. For not knowing the woman, he surely missed her smile like crazy, wondered how she was doing, hoped that she wasn’t working too hard, and secretly wished that her ‘boyfriend’ was screwing up, in case he ever got another shot at asking her out. 

But he knew it was highly unlikely so he threw himself into his side rehab jobs to get her off his mind. Before he knew it a month had gone by and the time crunch had begun because the upcoming season show guests had begun to bid on their houses for him to rehab. The majority of the hard work was now done by his hand-picked team of construction workers, plumbers, painters and electricians and decorators, but he was still required to put in a certain amount of hours of filming with each show contestant while working on the homes, and had the task of planning out the overall work to be done based on the guests ideas for their new home. One night he was hungry and there wasn’t a crumb of food in his kitchen. He’d been so busy working day and night on filming footage of the show’s most recent rehab jobs that he hadn’t been to the market in days. He needed to get a little work done as well so he took his laptop with him to Hillbilly’s for a bite and to look over some blueprints and catch up on the latest videos Axel had sent him of the preliminary footage of the contestants that he hadn’t met yet and their home buying plans. Of course deep down he’d hoped to possibly see Carol again but for the second time he got disappointed by her… she wasn’t there. But when he opened his email and saw Axel’s latest video of their most recent home buyer on the show, his jaw dropped when Carol’s beautiful face popped up on the screen as a show contestant, first being interviewed by Axel, then touring a few homes with him…


	5. Surprise, Surprise!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carol finds out just who Daryl is...

A couple of weeks passed since Carol’s first day at the studio and house hunting with Axle Dixon. Surprisingly the very first house that Axle had shown her was the one that she ended up falling in love with and bidding on. Of course she’d looked at all of the other available homes in her price range with an open mind and could only imagine all of the cool renovations that could be done to them to make one of them her own, but the 4 bedroom, 3 bath rancher he’d shown her in Woodbury on that first day of filming had been perfect and she could see herself and her children living there. It was in the next neighborhood over from where her good friends’ the Walsh’s lived and the house was a mid-century modern split level ranch just like she’d always wanted. The house had a large in-ground swimming pool out back, a full club basement with a fireplace, walk in closets in the bedrooms, a spacious dining area for entertaining and was a steal at only $155K, which was just below her maximum budget. The kitchen was much too small for her liking and the color scheme was something straight out of the early 1970s (lots of pea green, mustard yellow and coffee brown-yuck!), but the girls would finally each have their own bedrooms and the use of both the full baths on the second floor. Aside from the new kitchen and some cosmetic updates needed in other parts of the house, it only needed a little work because overall it “had good bones,” according to Axle. Since all renovations would be taken care of with the rehab bonus her mind was made up. All the place really needed was a new kitchen and some updates to the bathrooms, a new washer & dryer in the laundry room, new paint, new carpets and some landscaping work out in the yard so she took the plunge. Due to her generous rehab bonus she also decided that she was going to request that an en suite bath be built in the master bedroom, complete with a rain shower and spa tub as well as a fireplace. .

Carol was so excited when she received the news that no one else had bid on the house she wanted and even more excited when she was informed that Merle Dixon had accepted her low ball offer of $140K when he saw her opening segment video clip explaining that she was raising 3 kids and doing it all on her own while working two jobs.

Well, sort of working two jobs… she’d requested a temporary leave of absence from Hillbilly’s so that she’d be available for filming as needed on Saturdays. She appreciated the break; she still worked Monday thru Friday at the nursing home, but being off from the diner gave her more time with her girls on the weekends.

The only thing she found that she missed about the diner was the handsome stranger. She still felt like kicking herself every time she remembered lying to him about having a boyfriend. He hadn’t come in once to eat in the last couple of weeks she’d worked before taking her leave of absence, and she wondered if he’d been back lately. ‘He was SO freakin’ handsome with his smoky blue eyes, those big, muscled arms, broad shoulders and those lips…’ she thought to herself as she fantasized about all of the things she’d love for him to do to her with them. She couldn’t help it. It had been a long time since she’d been kissed by a man. Carol then remembered how quiet and shy he always seemed and how he’d always been so polite toward her whenever she waited on him, even when he gave her those hungry, passionate looks from under his shaggy brown bangs. She often watched how he devoured his food and licked his fingers while he ate from the back of the diner and it made her think about him eating something else... It had been a long time since a man had gone down on her and just thinking about that sexy stranger devouring her like he ate this peach pie a la mode made her grow moist with desire for him. He seemed like just the type of man she’d needed to get better acquainted with but doubted she’d ever see him again, let alone get another shot at getting asked out by him. Besides, she’d promised herself years ago that she wouldn’t dare start dating anyone anyway, not anytime soon at least while her girls were still so young and needed all of her free time and attention.

Just then her cell phone rang. It was a call from Tara, the receptionist at Builder Brothers headquarters.

“Hello, this is Carol.”

“Hi Carol, Tara here. Congratulations on getting the house.”

“Thanks! I’m really excited.”

“We are too, and I’m calling because it’s time to begin the last step of the process, rehabbing, renovating and finally decorating the house. You’re scheduled to come back in on Saturday morning at 9 am sharp to go over the blueprints and set up your renovation plans for the house with Daryl Dixon and then you’ll begin filming the demolition scenes with him and the crew at the home site.”

“Great. Is there anything I need to bring or do?”

“No ma’am. Just be here at 9. And don’t wear anything that you’ll mind getting dirty! As you know, Daryl likes hands on participation during the demolition scenes. You’ll be right alongside him and the crew, and be filmed for a few moments busting down walls and breaking glass and later helping with building cabinets, laying carpeting and tiles and painting, then he’ll accompany you to pick out some new furniture and home decorations with your remaining budget.”

Carol smirked. “I’ll take your word for it. I still haven’t met the illustrious Daryl yet,” she admitted with a laugh. 

“Well I’m sure you’ve seen him in action on the show!” Tara chuckled.

“No, I still haven’t! I’d never even watched the show until I became a contestant, and still have yet to catch a full episode because I don’t watch at home at all because I’m keeping this whole process a secret from my daughters so that when we move it’ll all be a big surprise. Everyone keeps telling me about how drop dead gorgeous this Daryl Dixon character is but I’m probably the first woman in the history of the show’s roster who’s never even seen the guy!”

“Carol, check your phone, hun,” Tara chuckled. 

Just then Carol’s phone beeped and when she looked down she had a text message from an unknown number.

“Just sent you that from my personal cell,” Tara chuckled. See ya here at 9 on Saturday!”

Carol opened the text; it was a link to the Builder Brothers website. And as soon as the link opened to the page, Carol was stunned when she saw a picture of Merle Dixon, Axle Dixon and… the sexy, mysterious stranger from the diner, all posing in front of the Dixon Real Estate Offices in matching Builder brothers show t-shirts!


	6. It's Him

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tara spills the tea and Carol takes it all in...

Carol’s jaw dropped. “Oh my God! It’s… it’s HIM! That’s Daryl Dixon?” she shrieked as she scrolled through all of the pics of Daryl with his brothers and a few of him individually. She’d know those sleepy, smoky blue eyes that went from shy to passionate in seconds, that curious smile with its occasional naughty smirk, that shaggy brown mane that she’d fantasized about running her fingers through while he devoured her in her dreams and those bulging biceps, broad shoulders and muscled back that she’d dreamt of grasping in the heat of passionate lovemaking. The heated fantasy made her drop her cell phone. 

It was him. The sexy stranger from the diner. The very man who’d for well over the past month had filled Carol’s lonely nights with some the hottest dreams and fantasies she’d ever had, and had caused her to have to pull out her old, faithful, ‘battery operated boyfriend’ on more occasions than she could count. And it made sense now. She’d initially thought it was weird, thought he was a bit weird truth be told; but now it all made sense; his random, late night visits to the diner, the request for the booth in the very back, the sunglasses, the caps pulled down low, the constant checking of his cell phone which constantly beeped and buzzed while he tried to eat his meals, the whispering, his somewhat shy demeanor, the HUGE tips even when he only got a coffee and his nervous glances every time someone entered or exited the place. He wasn’t some weirdo who was stalking her (like a few of her coworkers jokingly surmised when he started specifically asking her to wait on him)… he was a freakin’ millionaire... and a celebrity to boot! A celebrity who lived and worked in a big city who’d found a small town nearby that he could be totally incognito in. Hillbilly’s was a hole in the wall on an old country road with a waitress who was obviously clueless as to who he really was. And he’d asked her out! And she’d lied and told him she had a boyfriend! And now he was about to renovate her house on national television! And deep down she was CRAZY about him. But she just knew he'd never ask her out again. It was almost laughable! 

And then she heard actual laughter coming from her phone which she’d just dropped. “Shit,” she muttered, grabbing it. “Sorry Tara, I thought you’d hung up,” Carol mumbled, feeling a bit embarrassed and still somewhat in shock.

“Yeah Carol I’m still here… and I have to say, your reaction was a bit more dramatic than I’d expected, but hilarious nonetheless. But don’t feel bad hon, ALL of the female guests go nuts over him… and some of the guys too,” she then added with a chuckle. “I still can’t believe you’ve never seen him before. Half of the videos sent in to get on the show are phony schemes from women around town just dying to meet him. Can you imagine? They’re already in talks for season 4 to go national and they’ll be filming on location at homes from shore to shore, so I can only imagine what’s going to happen then. For now we just have hundreds of women lying about needing help to buy a house, JUST for a chance to meet and possibly get banged by the infamous Daryl Dixon. Who knows how many we’ll have next year! Probably in the tens of thousands,” she laughed. “Trust me he looks good; even better in person in fact than he does on those pics I just sent you, but isn’t that absurd? Besides, he’s got models, actresses and other rich celebrity chicks all throwing their panties at him on a daily basis everywhere he goes so he has his pick of the litter when it comes to women, so the ladies coming on the show don’t stand a chance with him anyway. Plus, I think it’s against the network rules for him to get involved with a show contestant because it might look like favoritism for cases of multiple bids or create a problem with confidentiality if things go south with some broad he starts banging. But I know that’s not the case for you Carol... You’ve never even see the man until now,“ she laughed. “Either way, please try to keep your composure on Saturday. You’re gonna be in his presence all day long so try not to faint when you get introduced or scream when he takes his shirt off, because he will take it off at some point while he’s working… it keeps the ratings up,” she chuckled. “But believe it or not even though he’s gorgeous, rich and famous and has a gang of horny adoring fans ready to drop to their knees to service him, if ya know what I mean, he’s actually very laid back and really serious about his work. So if you go into hysterics, screaming, kissing him and jumping on his back or ripping off your own damn clothes, which has happened more than once in the past I might add, he might walk off set and get all pissy about when he’ll work with you again, which creates one hell of a scheduling conundrum since the season 3 premiere is in less than two months. But Daryl’s like that; all that attention really makes him uncomfortable; for all the attention he gets, and all of the women he curves, tells me he’s probably already got a secret girlfriend stashed away somewhere. Of course his agent, Spencer Monroe, and his PR manager here at the network, Glenn Rhee, and Sasha of course, are probably forcing him to keep it hush hush, for the ratings and to keep his female fan base of course. He’s the biggest sweetheart in the world, and for all his good looks and sex appeal he’s awful shy… but PLEASE don’t tell him I told you any of that whatever you do… he’d shoot me with his crossbow if he found out,” she chuckled. “Oh yeah by the way... you might want to bring any photos you have or notes on what you want done to the house, also paint samples and the like. See ya on Saturday!” Tara added then hung up.

Carol plopped down on the couch. She was tired from her long morning shift at the nursing home and was glad that the girls weren’t home; they were all still at their after school activities and it gave her time to think. Saturday was only a few days away. What was she gonna do?


	7. Inquiring Minds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carol does a little online snooping to find out more about Daryl. Daryl does some sleuthing of his own...

Carol’s mind was racing a mile a minute as she started making dinner, and to keep things simple she opted to whip up a quick tuna casserole from a recipe that her co-worker Jacqui had given her ages ago and planned to serve it with a small pan of freshly baked cornbread and a big garden salad. She knew that she had some down time before her daughters arrived at home and awhile before the casserole would be done so she poured herself a glass of white wine and pulled out her lap top computer. She then curled up on her couch and did an online search of the illustrious Daryl Dixon. 

She was amazed at what she found. There were so many pics of that gorgeous hunk of man online that they made her heart race and her head spin. She checked a local gossip website and read that due to his overwhelming popularity on Builder Brothers and the show’s high ratings the Southern Comfort network had actually been in talks to create a dating show for him with 25 women competing for his heart but that he’d graciously declined. She then saw an online article about him on the Zombie Magazine website that showed pictures of his estate in Senoia, Georgia and his vacation home in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, both of which he'd remodeled himself and in the article he talked about his new line of trucker caps that were selling like hotcakes. He then showed off his impressive classic 1970's muscle sportscars and motorcycle collection, and had expressed surprise about recently discovering that he actually had a fan club. 

Carol immediately checked the fan club's website, 'DixonsVixens.com' and read that his full name is Daryl Archer Dixon, he’s 36 years old, his favorite color is black, favorite band is Nirvana, favorite foods are Georgia peach pie, homemade chocolate chip cookies and southern fried chicken, favorite drink is whisky, he owns a dog and two horses, and his sign is Gemini. It also listed that his personal net worth was over $15 million dollars and counting, due to his years of home sales and renovations as well as the Builder Brothers show’s success, and that there were a bunch of false rumors currently circulating that he was secretly dating King County's own beautiful, up and coming country-western starlet Beth Greene. Beth was a local singer whose vocal talent was quickly making her a household name. 

Surprisingly Carol had actually met Beth Greene before she’d gotten her recent multi-million dollar record deal, at her dad’s Hershel Greene’s horse ranch that previous year when she’d first signed Mika up for riding lessons. She was a sweet girl, but Carol just couldn’t believe the rumor. “Daryl can’t possibly be interested in that ‘little girl’ AND be sincere about asking me out... she’s no more than 19,” Carol thought to herself, then dismissed the rumor entirely when she then read that although they’d recently been spotted together chatting ‘intimately’ back stage at one of her concerts, Daryl had been quoted saying that he’d “known Beth Greene since she was a child," that his own father "bought all our family’s horses from her dad’s farm back in the day,” and insisted that he was “only wishing her success on her music career,” and that “there was absolutely nothing going on,” between them, even going so far as to add, “I’d NEVER dream of ‘dating’ Beth Greene... she’s like a kid sister to me.”

Despite the additional overwhelming attention he was getting from the masses, he seemed to be a very shy person when Carol interacted with him at the diner and away from the spotlight; but she wondered how he’d act when they came face to face on Saturday. Would he still be interested in her?

 

Meanwhile, Daryl had known about Carol being on the show for a nearly a week at that point and it was driving him nuts knowing that he was gonna be filming with her in a few days. He couldn't wait to see her again but hadn’t forgotten about her shooting him down when he’d asked her out by mentioning that she had a man in her life. He’d always had luck with the ladies, and since becoming famous no woman ever turned him down. His pride was a little hurt but he really wanted to ask her out again. He'd felt real chemistry with the shy, beautiful woman; they had a connection and he always trusted his hunches. He knew there'd be some awkwardness between them however once she realized who he was and the last thing he wanted was to make her uncomfortable but he needed to know more about her so badly and if there may be a chance in hell that she’d go out with him that it was driving him to distraction and he just couldn't take it anymore.

He grabbed his cell and called Axle. He couldn’t call Merle. Even though Merle had sold Carol her house on the show and as such had gotten to know her quite well, if Daryl so much as mentioned to him that he was interested in knowing anything about her, Merle wouldn’t give him any personal info on her because it was technically against network rules AND he’d tease him mercilessly about having a crush on her; he just wouldn’t let him hear the end of it. Axle on the other hand had interviewed Carol then taken her on several home tours so he’d gotten to know her a bit as well and Daryl knew that since he LOVED to gossip more than a teenaged girl, AND was a hopeless romantic, he knew he’d could talk to him about what he was feeling and find out more about Carol. 

"Double D! What's up baby brother?" Axle answered after a few rings in his deep South Georgia accent with his usual friendly, laid back personality.

"Nothing much. How're the wife and family?"

"Everybody's good... Hey yall, say hey to yer Uncle Daryl," he shouted with a laugh to the roomful of his and his wife Dana's brood of six children, ranging in age from 7 to 16, then put Daryl on speaker phone for him to hear all of their hellos. "So D what can I do ya for?" he then asked before loudly chewing a mouthful of food. 

"Oh wow Ax, if yer havin' yer dinner I can call ya later. It wasn't important," he lied.

"No worries... Dana just made one hell of a meatloaf! Now... what do ya need?"

“Sounds... yummy...” he said in a sarcastic tone. Dana couldn’t cook for shit and Axle knew it but he loved her to pieces and kissed the ground she walked on and happily choked down every disaster she attempted to whip up in their kitchen. Daryl swore she could mess up Bisquick pancakes if she tried to make them. He shook his head then went on. “Well, I’ll be filming some demolition scenes this coming Saturday... I’m supposed to be meeting with the lady who’s gonna be featured on the final episode of the season. I watched a little of the footage you sent me but I haven’t met with her yet so I just had a few questions I figured you could answer.”

“Carol! She’s a really great lady!”

‘You can say that again,’ Daryl thought to himself. “Yeah... so anything I need to know about her?”

“Well as I’m sure you saw she bought the split level over on Apocalypse Drive up in Woodbury. Place has real good bones; trust me it’ll be a quick and easy job for the crew. Roof’s great, furnace is brand new and all the electrical and plumbing are up to code. Windows are good, no flood damage or any other problems in the basement. Just needs a new kitchen, new carpets and paint throughout, new washer and dryer, a few updates to the upper level bathrooms and some landscaping out in the yard. Might wanna refinish the pool too. Oh and I think she said something about adding a fireplace and a Jacuzzi in the master if there’s any money left over.”

“There’ll be plenty left for that!” he replied. ‘And for anything else she wants,’ he thought to himself but didn’t dare say aloud. “Thanks Ax, I’ll keep all that in mind about the house. But, umm... what about her?” 

“Who Carol? Why she’s a sweetheart, brother! It was a real pleasure working with her; she was pretty easy to please. Didn’t give me any trouble during the house visits at all; just the normal first time buyer questions and jitters. Real pretty too and don’t even get me started on those legs of hers!” he whistled. “Been through a rough time though, with the divorce and all. From what I gather her ex-husband was a real asshole.” 

“She’s divorced? I mean... she’s divorced, okay. Did she, um, happen to mention anything about a boyfriend?” Daryl asked casually.

“No... why?”

“Just wondering... You know sometimes the unmarried contestants bring someone along to help out with the demolition scenes that’s all.”

 

“She didn’t say anything about a boyfriend that I can recall. She just kept going on about her three kids she’s raising all on her own.”

“She’s got three kids?” he asked in disbelief.

“Yup. A set of twins girls in high school and I think she said her baby girl will be in middle school next year. She was asking about the schools in the area. I think she said they’re in a small apartment in Atlanta right now so that house is gonna be a perfect for her family when its done."

“She deserves it. She sounds like a great mom and a wonderful lady.” Daryl murmured with a small smile, wondering for a second if she’d ever want more kids. ‘You’re getting way ahead of yourself Dixon.” 

“She sure does. So... you never asked me this many questions about a contestant before. I know something’s up. Talk to me D.”

Daryl groaned. Axle knew him better than anyone. “Promise you wont tell Merle? He’ll never let me live it down!”

“I won’t,” Axle laughed. “You like her or something? I thought you hadn’t even met her yet!”

“Actually I have... she’s the waitress down at that little diner I was telling you about. You know the one where I go where no one knows who the hell I am, Hillbilly’s?”

“The place with the peach pie so good it’ll make you smack your mama?”

“Yep.”

“So Carol’s the waitress you’re crazy about that wouldn’t go out with you!”

“Yup."

“And she has no clue about who the hell you really are?”

“Nope.”

“And she told you she’s got a boyfriend?”

“Yep. Unfortunately,” he groaned. “But I think she probably says that to all the guys in the diner. It might be against the rules for her to date one of the customers. I saw a couple of truckers getting fresh with her and she shot ‘em all down. I’m goin’ nuts over here Ax. I’m crazy about her.”

“Its against the rules for you to date her while she's a contestant at the network too. But what they don’t know wont hurt ‘em... and that's IF she even agrees to go out with you after all this is said and done, and that's IF she doesnt really have a boyfriend, which you still dont know. Either way, I think your Saturday is gonna be pretty INTERESTING, brother!” Axle howled with laughter.

"Oh shut up," Daryl groaned before hanging up.


	8. Friday Night Phone Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carol calls Jacqui and "spills the tea"...

Around ten on Friday evening Jacqui was curled up with her husband Morgan on their basement couch enjoying some ice cream while watching a movie when the house telephone rang. “Who’s that honey?” she asked Morgan absentmindedly; she was quite engrossed in the film, Sky, starring Norman Reedus, one of the couple’s favorite actors. 

Morgan glanced at the cordless phone screen. “It’s Carol, babe,” he replied then answered the phone. “Hey there, Carol!” he answered with a smile.

“Morgan!” Carol exclaimed with an equally big grin; she loved Jacqui’s witty and kind hearted husband. “Long time no see, hon! I so miss our chats and your world famous barbecue!” 

Morgan was very fond of Carol as well. When she’d started working at the nursing home where Jacqui served as the Director of Nursing, Jacqui began inviting her over from time to time, and they all became fast friends. Their kids got along great also and Carol’s twins attended the same high school as Morgan and Jacqui’s son Duane, and Duane’s best friend, Carl Grimes. “Carol I miss you too dear. But you’re family! You know you’re always welcomed to just stop by. I know you’ve been working to get the house and everything... and congratulations again on that. But I’ve got an idea. If you’re off on Sunday afternoon, why don’t you bring the girls over for a little cookout? I’ll fire up the grill and throw on some burgers, hot dogs, chicken and of course my famous ribs! I’ll get some chips and dips, also make a big pot of beans and some cole slaw, and I’ll see if I can persuade her majesty Queen Jacqui to make us a big pan each of her homemade potato salad and macaroni salad. The kids can play volleyball and badminton out back and I’ll ask Duane to invite a few friends over so they can keep the twins company and maybe Carl can bring Judy along for Mika to play with.”

“That sounds perfect! I’m off on Sunday; the girls will be thrilled! Thanks so much Morgan. I’ll bring a big pan of cornbread and something for dessert. Anything else you want me to bring?”

“No ma’am. Just yourself and the girls... and if there’s anything else specific you want to drink, just ring to let us know.”

“Will do kind sir. Now may I request a brief company with ‘her majesty the Queen’?” she then asked with a giggle using a horrible faux British accent.

Morgan laughed heartily; he was originally from the UK and Carol’s attempt at the London ‘cockney’ accent was utterly horrible. “You may, my fair lady!” Morgan replied with a chuckle emphasizing his own real British accent, before handing Jacqui the phone.

“Hey sugar plum, what’s up?” Jacqui asked. She’d been off work for the past week on a mini vacation and hadn’t spoken to Carol since. “What’s going on with the house?”

“Jacqui that’s just what I wanted to talk to you about. Tomorrow morning I have to go down to the studio to lay out the renovation plans then we’ll begin filming the demolition scenes at the home site.”

“That’s great honey!” she exclaimed. “I forgot to tell you that I drove past the house the other day. It’s really nice and in a great neighborhood. I’m so happy for you Carol. What are you getting done?”

“Nothing too drastic. Just new paint outside, new windows on the front of the house, a new kitchen, paint throughout, new carpets upstairs and in the basement, and the backyard needs some landscaping work and they have to retile the pool. I also need a new washer and dryer, and then depending on the budget I’m gonna ask for a jacuzzi tub in the master bath and a fireplace in my bedroom.”

“There’ll be plenty for money left over for all of that stuff, and I’m sure there will still be enough left for you to pick out some furnishings and decorations also at the Housewares Warehouse super store, so don’t worry. Remember I’ve seen every episode of the show. The buyers almost always get everything they want with that hundred thousand dollar renovation bonus. And how could I forget? You’re finally gonna get to work one on one with that handsome devil Daryl Dixon tomorrow!”

“That’s the other thing I needed to tell you about!”

“You don’t sound too enthusiastic, Carol. Please don’t tell me you still haven’t seen the guy!”

“Oh I’ve seen him alright. Jacqui, do you remember me telling you about a month ago, about the sexy guy who asked me out at the diner?”

“Yes... the mysterious guy with the hot bod who undressed you with his eyes and left you the big tips every time he came in? The one you regretted telling that you had a boyfriend? The one who never came back after you shot him down.”

“That’s the one.” 

“I remember... what about him? He finally came back? No... you haven’t worked down there in weeks. Did he get in touch with you somehow? One of your coworkers at the diner gave him your number or something?”

“No... but...”

“Spit it out, girl. This suspense is killing me,” she laughed.

“Jacqui you’re not gonna believe this, babe,” Carol groaned. “And I know you won’t dare tell a soul... but the sexy, mysterious guy at the diner...”

“What about him? And what does he have to do with your house?” she asked, and when Carol didn’t reply she put two and two together. “Wait a minute. Carol don’t tell me!” she exclaimed. “You can’t mean..."

“Yeah...”

“The mysterious guy from the diner?”

“Mm hmm..”

“Is Daryl Dixon?”

“Yup.”

“Get the hell out of here!” she exclaimed before cracking up laughing, causing Morgan to glance over at her with a surprised yet amused expression on his face because she rarely cursed. “And you didn’t know it was him because you never watched the show.”

“Exactly. I finally saw some pictures of him and you could have knocked me over with a feather when I realized who he was."

“What are the odds? But he’s rich and famous! No offence... I mean Hillbilly’s has really good food, but that’s the last place in the world I’d expect Daryl Dixon to go out for dinner, you know? I know he stayed local for filming the show, but he’s a freakin’ millionaire. I would’ve thought a guy like him would hang out in swanky, upscale spots here in Atlanta like The Oceanaire Seafood Room, Morton’s, Chops Lobster Bar or Aria, you know, places where the paparazzi might pop up and snap a pic of him for the tabloids,” she giggled. 

“I think that’s what he must’ve been trying to avoid. Hillbilly’s is on a back road off the interstate in Senoia of all places. Which leads me to my next question. He could have his pick of women. Why in the world did he ask me out of all people?”

“Don’t put yourself down, Carol. You’re a beautiful woman. Maybe the oh so gorgeous Mr. Dixon saw that and simply wanted to get to know you better. I’ve never heard him mention anything about having a girlfriend on the show.” 

“But I’ve been looking so horrible lately, especially when I worked at the diner! I rarely wore any makeup whatsoever when I’d work in there, my hair was in desperate need of a trim, and it always sweated out of whatever curls I threw in because of the heat, and you know that I had to wear that hideous uniform dress that does absolutely nothing for my figure.” 

“Carol, please. You NEVER look horrible, and you have a body to die for. No one in a million years would guess you’re knocking on forty with three, half grown kids. And you always have some story about all of the truckers making passes at you every night.”

“Those perverts don’t count,” she chuckled. “They’re all just lonely and horny from being on the road for so long. But Daryl Dixon! He’s no crusty old truck driver with a dirty mind and a hard on. He’s... well...he’s freakin’ Daryl Dixon! And besides, I didn’t even know who he was until a few days ago!”

“That’s probably what he liked about you. I can only imagine the constant attention he gets from women who only want him because of his fame and fortune. But he wanted to get to know you my dear, and from what I gathered you were attracted to him too but you shot him down before you even got a chance let him take you out. So... what are you gonna do about it now?”

“I don’t know. He can’t possibly still be interested. It’s been over a month since I’ve seen him. And I told him I had a man. When he sees me tomorrow he’s gonna think I’m some kind of a nut job.”

“Maybe not. Mr. Dixon seems like a sweetheart. I have a feeling tomorrow is gonna be very interesting for you, honey! Keep me posted!”

"Jacqui! I dont even know what to wear! I went and got a haircut and got my nails done but I'm a mess inside. He's FAMOUS! What am I gonna do?"

"Just be yourself, honey. Apparently he liked you just the way you are! Are you still interested in him?"

"Of course... but I never got to clear up the 'little white lie' about having a boyfriend and now I feel more than a little discouraged because I know who he is now and I dont want to get embarrassed if he isnt interested in me anymore. I am freaking out over here. Tomorrow's gonna be so weird!" I need a drink!"

Jacqui laughed. "You'll be fine, honey. Let him take the lead. And if he so much as hints at still wanting to get to know you better, you be sure to let him know how you feel... and tell me all about it when you come over on Sunday!"


	9. Saturday Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On set at the studio, the bright stage lights aren't the only thing making Carol feel the heat; Daryl's heated gaze alone is enough to light her fire...

Saturday morning arrived. Carol was up early, showered and dressed a little after 8; as usual she had to be at the studio at 9. Fortunately her daughters had spent the night at her parents’ home the night before so she didn’t have to sneak around them when she got up, nor worry about them asking her where she was going dressed the way she was; particularly before she’d changed at the last minute. She’d wanted to look her best since she was finally going to see Daryl again, and had initially put on one of the new sundresses she’d recently treated herself to along with a pair of tall, high heeled wedge sandals, but then remembered the actual task at hand for the day. In addition to sitting down with Daryl to film about what plans she had for the house remodeling job, she was also going to be filming the first demolition scenes at the property and Tara had told her to wear something that she didn’t care about getting dirty, so heels and an above the knee sundress, although stylish and sure to catch the sexy Mr. Dixon’s eye, would not fit the occasion. She ended up dressing casually in a long sleeved pink Under Armour® t-shirt, a thin gray hoodie, a pair of black leggings and black sneakers. She then added a dab of gel to her new short cut, a pair of hoop earrings and a little makeup... ‘just in case he is still looking,’ she thought to herself with a hopeful smile.

When she arrived at the studio and passed security, Tara greeted her and told her where she needed to go to get prepped for filming. Carol was a bundle of nerves in the makeup room, and as she then headed down the long and by then familiar hallway to the set it was almost like she could feel electricity in the air. When she approached the set stage, she immediately knew why... Daryl Dixon was already waiting for her there. 

He was facing away from her but she immediately knew it was him. The first thing she noticed was his ever present trucker cap, and his broad back and strong shoulders in his fitted black Builder Brothers t-shirt. She didn’t miss his sexy narrow waist in his low slung, designer blue jeans, as he then sat down, nursing a cup of coffee while looking over some papers. 

Just then Axle walked on set and did his little happy dance, making Carol giggle before giving her a small hug. “Hey there Carol.. have ya met my little brother Daryl?” he asked with a big wink. Carol blushed as he went on. “As you know, he’s gonna be working on your house today! Eh...Daryl, meet Carol, our contestant for today! Aint she the pretty one?” he called out in a flirty, sing song tone, causing both Carol and Daryl to glance at each other. 

Axel went on speaking but neither Carol nor Daryl heard a word the moment their eyes locked. If anyone else on set had been looking it would’ve been completely obvious that they’d both completely tuned the man out. 

Carol felt her face redden even more under Daryl’s intense gaze as he eyed her from head to toe with an appreciative and knowing smirk while pretending to meet her for the first time, because by then everyone within ear shot from the set director and the lighting gaffer to the videographer and the set techs, all turned around. Carol suddenly felt hot all over, just like every other time she’d been in his presence but she had to play it off and swallow her nervousness and the blatant arousal she felt from being so close to him again as he held out his hand for her to shake. She smiled shyly as he boldly grasped her small hand in his huge one and as he shook it, he softly ran his thumb across her wrist then dipped it slowly into her palm in an almost sensuous gesture that made a shiver shoot from her spine straight to her core, making her gasp slightly and glance up at him in surprise. All week she’d contemplated acting shocked when they were formally introduced on set, but she realized after once glance from his smoky blue eyes that any attempts at feigning surprise was futile. It was immediately obvious that they’d both had found out who the other was prior to entering the room, but they had play it off in the meantime...

“It’s so nice to finally meet you,” he said with mischievous wink. “Now let’s get started, shall we, Sweetheart?” he murmured, boldly caressing her back as he ushered her to the couch. Yet again, no one else seemed to notice, but Carol was burning from the inside out from his looks and his touch. It was QUITE obvious that he was still attracted to her and she hoped he was still interested as well. 

‘It’s gonna be a long day,’ she thought to herself,’ as the cameras started rolling.


	10. Saturday Morning, Continued...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On set, Carol and Daryl's chemistry is undeniable...

The Builder Brothers theme music began playing on cue and the director, Ezekiel (nicknamed ‘King Ezekiel, for his intense and dramatic directing manner) on set, mouthed “Action!”

Carol smiled nervously at the camera and Daryl gave a small, shy grin before reading his cue card. “Hey folks, welcome back to Builder Brothers; I’m Daryl Dixon. I’m here today with our guest Carol to begin the last part of her home renovation process. How are ya today Carol?”

“I’m good,” she nearly whispered. Ezekiel gave her a warm smile and a slight hand signal urging her to elaborate a bit as well as raise her voice a little louder. She smiled again. “And how are you, Mr. Dixon?”

Daryl gave her a wink that no one else saw just before the camera zoomed in on him. “Oh no, none of that Mr. Dixon stuff... call me Daryl, Sweetheart,” he murmured with a smirk while staring intently into her big blue eyes. He then reminded himself that he was by then being taped and reminded himself to stick to the script for the time being. “So... are you excited about your new house?” he asked.

“I sure am!” she said in a happy tone. “I can’t wait to move in. My daughters, Soph, Lizzie and Mika are gonna be ecstatic! I’m keeping this whole process a big surprise.”

“Great! Now can you tell me a little bit about why you chose this home specifically?” he asked, gesturing to the big projection screen behind them that by then was displaying a blown up image of the house that Carol had settled on. “I believe Axel showed you several different houses in our stable of available homes that were in your price range that were also in the vicinity of where you were interested in moving.”

“Yes, Axle showed me five really nice houses, and it was a toss up for a minute but I ended up choosing my house because I remembered that as soon as I walked inside, I felt like I was... home. It looks small on the outside from the front angle, but it’s very, very spacious inside and yet it feels cozy, and it has all of the charm of the 1970s ‘mid-century modern’ style with a somewhat modern flare. There’s a fireplace in the basement, my master bedroom has a walk in closet AND an en suite bath, the pool is HUGE and there’s even a mini bar in the dining room and a small in-law suite in the club basement which will be perfect for when my parents or friends visit. But that’s not the main reason I chose this one. Truth be told one of the biggest reasons I chose it was because... oh never mind... it’s really silly,” she giggled, as she then dabbed at few happy tears forming in her eyes.

“You can tell me, Carol,” he murmured, lightly touching her hand. The joy in her smile and her genuine tears had affected him greatly. 

Just then King Ezekiel gave a big grin and a thumbs up sign, and gestured that he continue holding Carol’s hand.

Carol blushed, yet continued smiling for the cameras as she tried to compose herself while Daryl once again began gently and inconspicuously rubbing the large, work calloused pad of his thumb against her palm while holding her hand. ‘Who the hell knew that could be so sexual?’ she thought to herself as her core flooded and goose bumps broke out on her arms and back. She shivered from the excitement as yet another blush rose into her cheeks as he gazed knowingly into her eyes. She could smell his musky cologne and it was intoxicating her senses. She was so aroused from being so close to him, overjoyed that he at least ‘seemed’ to still be attracted to her and so anxious about what he would say or do once the cameras stopped rolling that she felt like either crying or screaming (or better yet, both,) but she somehow remained cool, calm, and collected. The last thing she wanted the home audience to know when her episode finally aired was that during this particular segment, she was sweating bullets under her clothes from having a mild panic attack, and had soaked her panties because Daryl Dixon’s sexy baby blue eyes made her hornier than a feral cat in heat. She quickly went on. “Well... it’s just a dream come true for me to finally get my own home. I went through so much, a bad marriage, a messy divorce and working two jobs for two years straight just to get a house all on my own... for my daughters, and for myself, and now they’ll each have their own bedrooms... and I can finally resign from my part time job because my mortgage is less than my apartment’s rent monthly and my storage unit combined, but honestly... I finally chose this home specifically because, well... the inside layout kind of reminded me of the house from The Brady Bunch!” she giggled. “That was my favorite show when I was a kid and I always wanted a house like that once I “grew up,” she said making ‘air quotes’ with her hands, “and had a family of my own... and I guess the idea just stuck. Now I’ve got it and I couldn’t be happier!”

Daryl was watching her intently and he couldn’t help admiring how her eyes lit up as she then waxed poetic on everything else that she loved about the house and how grateful she was to Merle Dixon for graciously accepting her low end offer for the house. Daryl normally felt bored while filming these show segments because the previous show footage already covered most of what they were discussing; he normally wanted to just get started on the demolition and renovation job and get it over with, but it had been proven in several ratings surveys that the home audience ate these mushy, sappy scenes up, and his presence alone drove the ratings into the stratosphere with the female fan base which translated into more money for the entire team, so he’d just grin and bear it even when it killed him. But this time Carol was opposite him on the couch on set; and he found himself cherishing every moment they’d been together thus far. He was genuinely interested in everything that she had to say, and was even more curious to know more about her. He was also particularly glad that she hadn’t invited ‘The Boyfriend,” along for filming on set; (most contestants brought their spouses or significant others along during the house hunt and on demolition day, to help the renovation team move the process along quicker at the home site,) but Carol hadn’t even mentioned him whatsoever while discussing all of her plans for her future at her new home.

“Well, I gotta say, I’m very, very happy for you Carol and I’m so glad you chose us here at Builder Brothers to help make your home buying dream come true. Now... there’s just one problem that I’m sure you’re well aware of. Although the house you purchased is in great condition considering that its over 40 years old, and is sound structurally, electronically and plumbing wise, I looked carefully over your wish list, then compared it against the blue prints of the house’s layout, and I found that your Brady Bunch dream home doesn’t quite have EVERYTHING in it that you want inside. The good news is that you have an over $100K renovation bonus left over since you didn’t go over the maximum on your home loan, and that’s where me and my team of top, local construction workers, carpenters and painters come in. I see here that you want a new kitchen, new carpeting and paint throughout and a fireplace installed in the master bedroom, as well as a spa tub. Consider it all done, as well as landscaping for the yard and new tiling for your pool! Me and my team are gonna make your dreams a reality, along with a little help from our sponsors down at the Housewares Warehouse. Let’s take a look at some of my ideas for your new kitchen and master bath since those are the only rooms you want changed structurally, and you let me know which design ideas you like.”

“Sounds good!” Carol replied before the camera panned up yet again to the projection screen on the wall that showcased Daryl’s computer generated kitchen and luxury bathroom layouts that Daryl had created using an interior design graphics program on his computer, and after Carol chose the layouts she liked, the camera zoomed back in on her and Daryl sitting on the set couch.

“Carol I promise you’re gonna love your place once I’m done! Let’s take a little trip down to the house right now to demolish the old kitchen and tear out the walls in the master bedroom and bathroom, then we’ll hit the nearest Housewares Warehouse and pick out your new kitchen cabinets and get the estimates for the kitchen floor tile, the and bathroom wall and floor tile, pick out your Jacuzzi tub, your paint colors, carpeting for upstairs and the basement, and tiles for your pool, as well as order the sod for your yard, the windows for the front of the house and a new washer and dryer, then if there’s time we can take a look at some furniture. The entire project should be done in less than a month by the way. How’s that sound?”

“That sounds great because the sooner I can move in, the sooner I can pay just my mortgage as opposed to my current apartment’s rent and rent for my storage unit.”

“Alright then, let’s hit the road! We’ve got a lot of work to do!”

When they then stood to walk out, Daryl once again placed his large hand on the small of Carol’s back, sending a bolt of white hot electricity shooting straight up her spine. ‘Oh my God!’ she thought to herself as her core flooded yet again. ‘If I react like this when the man merely touches me THROUGH my clothes, I can only imagine how I’d feel if he placed those big, strong hands on my naked body,’ she thought to herself with a small, demure smile on her full, pursed lips. She’d successfully played it off but couldn’t help thinking that Daryl Dixon was going to be the death of her. He HAD to know the effect he was having on her and it was driving her nuts. She’d NEVER in her life reacted to a man’s mere touch like she did with him; certainly not with Ed, even in the beginning before he’d turned into the monster he became later on in their marriage, nor with any of the other couple of guys she’d dated briefly since leaving him. 

King Ezekiel and the camera crew then followed Carol and Daryl outside to the Builder Brothers’ van parked in front of the building and before they got inside, the director, “King” Ezekiel mouthed “Cut!” and the cameras stopped rolling. “Dixon, Carol that was AMAZING!” he exclaimed, clapping his hands in a dramatic manner. “We got the whole segment in one take. You two did great and I gotta say, you two look really good together on camera. Great chemistry from beginning to the end! Are you sure there isnt something going on between you two?’ he joked, to which both Carol and Daryl only laughed and shook their heads no in unison. Ezekiel gave them a curious look, then chuckled to himself. “Oh okay... whatever you say.” he said with a knowing smile. He then turned to the crew. “Alright folks, it’s only 10:15 so we are making excellent time! Everyone head over to the home site now so we can hopefully get all of the demolition shots in by lunch!” He then looked back at Daryl. “You know I’d normally ride over to the house in the van with the show guest but I’ve got to make a couple of quick calls. Maybe you can drive Carol over yourself, eh Dixon?” he asked with a smirk.

“Sure thing, Ezekiel. No problem,” Daryl replied, glancing back at Carol. “You mind riding with me, Sweetheart?” he asked while staring at her intently and causing her to blush yet again.

“No problem Daryl. “I’d love to ride with you,” she said with a cheerful smile ‘I’d LOVE to ‘ride you’ even more, she then thought to herself.

“Great!” Ezekiel exclaimed with a knowing smirk as if he’d read her mind. “So Dixon are all of your guys there yet?” he then asked to no reply. Daryl was totally distracted once he’d started staring intently at Carol yet again. “Dixon?” he repeated with a laugh. “Your crew?”

“Huh? Oh... my crew... yeah, they should all be there. I spoke with T-Dog earlier this morning; he and Tyreese were headed over around eight thirty. Rest of the crew should be there before we arrive as well.”

“Great. I’ll leave you two alone and see you soon.”

Daryl turned to Carol. “Ya ready?”

“Yes... I just need to walk over and collect my purse from the security office.”

“Security? All the way on the other side of the building?” he exclaimed with a frown. “No way, Sweetheart. “I’m not making you walk all the way over there. You wait right here. I’ll be right back.” He darted back inside the studio and looked around until he spotted one of the crew gaffers goofing off and flirting with one of the female network interns. He normally NEVER pulled rank or acted like a spoiled celebrity on set or anywhere else, but at the moment he needed fast service. He whistled loudly making half the room look up. “Hey, you... with the mullet,” he exclaimed in an authoritative tone, after the loud whistle. Daryl had seen they guy around and instinctively figured he’d do as he was told and be fast about it.

Mullet guy nearly jumped a foot in the air when he realized that Daryl Dixon was indeed talking to him. “Yes, sir, Mr. Dixon, sir?” he asked, running over and nervously mopping his forehead which had immediately begun sweating bullets. The guy’s name was Eugene and he’d been working for the network for a couple of months. He really liked Axle Dixon but he was scarred shitless of Merle Dixon who yelled at him at least twice a day, and even more so of Daryl, who was usually quiet and seemed like he was brooding half the time he appeared on set and as such seemed quite unpredictable.

“What’s your name, kid?” Daryl asked impatiently.

“It’s Eugene, sir. But I’m not a kid, sir, even though I admit that I still do love video games, comic books, Saturday morning cartoons and Twinkies just as much as I did when I was a kid, sir. However I believe we’re nearly in the same age range, sir. I am in fact almost 34. My birthday is in exactly 1 month, 3 weeks and approximately 5 days. And may I say I’m a big, no a huge fan of the show, sir, and I don’t usually flirt with the female interns but that was Rosita and she’s so freakin’ hot and she normally ignores me but today she actually remembered my name so I had to attempt to talk to her and request her cell number again. She turned me down the last two times but I was hoping the third time would be the charm...”

Daryl cut him off. “Look kid, I don’t care about you talking to the interns as long as your work gets done, and dont take it personal but I call everybody “Kid,” and I couldn’t care less when your birthday is... and PLEASE stop with the ‘sir this and sir that bullshit. Just call me Mr Dixon. Look man I just need you to do me one solid real quick.”

“Do you? One? Solid? Sir?” he asked in a confused tone.

Daryl rolled his eyes. “I need you to do me a favor," he said translating the term for the apparently CLUELESS man.

“Oh! Is that some new slang or something? I’m usually in the know about such things. I consider myself as being quite ‘down” if you catch my drift.”

“Yeah right,” Daryl replied. “Anyway, can you do me this quick favor?”

“Anything Mr. Dixon sir. I mean anything at all sir. It would be my pleasure sir. Like I said I am a huge fan, sir...”

“Stop calling me sir!” Daryl growled in annoyance. 

“Sure thing sir. I mean, Mr. Dixon.”

Daryl rolled his eyes again. “Look. I just need you to haul ass pronto over the security office in the A wing and pick up Carol Horvath’s purse and bring it out of the front building entrance in five minutes. And don’t walk, take a golf cart, and gun that fucker. Can you handle that?”

“Yes, sir, I mean sure thing Mr. Dixon. But may I ask, who’s Carol Horvath?” he asked.

“She was today’s show guest. Weren’t you manning the house lights during the filming? Don’t you know nuthin?” Daryl then grunted in an annoyed tone.

“Ah yes... today’s guest, Carol. Contestant # 15 on the upcoming season roster. She’s really hot in a sorta MILF kinda way, ya know. I mean with the sexy grey hair and all with that new ultra short cut she’s got going on, ya know what I mean?” he asked Daryl wiggling his eyebrows. “She’s got great legs and a really nice a...”

“Watch it Mullet Man,” Daryl growled, cutting him off before he dared mention anything about Carol's ass. “Just go down to the front desk. Tell Tara I sent you and to call security and ask for the bag then bring it out front. Pronto!”

“Yes sir. Sure thing, sir. I mean sure thing Mr. Dixon. It was so nice meeting you and if you ever need anything else just let me know sir...”

“Now, please!” Daryl growled. “We’ve gotta get to the home site in 30 minutes.”

Eugene ran off down the hall to get one of the motorized golf carts the gaffers and other set crew member often rode around on around the network studio’s massive building, and Daryl darted back outside. As he led Carol over to his pickup truck he told her that someone would be bringing her purse out to her in a minute. He drove her around to the front of the building and sure enough, Eugene came out a few moments later bearing the purse. Daryl jumped out and grabbed it, and slipped Eugene a twenty dollar bill. “Thanks’ kid.”

“You’re welcome sir, and thank you for the generous tip, sir, and may I add...”

“No you may not add,” Daryl growled, cutting him off before jumping back inside the truck.

The ride to Carol’s house from the studio took close to half an hour. During that time, Daryl and Carol broke the ice by sharing a long laugh about her not knowing who he was when he’d come into the diner and about him not realizing that she was going to be on the show. They talked more during the entire drive, and their chemistry was just as strong as it had been since they’d first met. He admitted to her that he'd loved the fact that he could be a normal person at Hillbilly's, and not some 'celebrity,' but knew that once the show filmed in a few months all of her coworkers would know who he was once she told them to tune in for her episode, but that he wouldn't mind. He'd hopefully find somewhere else to eat in peace. 

Surprisingly Carol then shocked herself by boldly bringing up the ‘boyfriend’ situation before he got a chance to.

“Daryl, I have a little confession to make. When you asked me out that night at Hillbillys I wasn’t entirely honest with you.”

“How so?” he asked, glancing over at her. 

“Well... I don’t really have a boyfriend. I’m as single as the day is long, and I am very attracted to you, too,” she admitted. "I dated a bit after my divorce a few years back but nothing serious. I just always tell the men who come in the diner that I have a man because I get hit on all the time by those perverted old truckers. They’re only trying to get into my and my female coworker’s pants. We all say it. It’s just a habit to shoot them down before they get all handsy, ya know?”

“I can’t say that I blame ‘em. You’re a beautiful woman, Carol... and a beautiful person. And I wasn’t just trying to get in yer pants,” he added. ‘Even though heaven and hell knows I’d love to’ he thought to himself as he glanced over at her toned thighs in the leggings she’d worn. “I was sincere when I asked out. I really wanted to get to know you better.” Just then Daryl pulled up in front of the house. “So since you are single... would you like to have lunch with me today after we film the demolition scenes?”


	11. A Change In Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carol declines lunch... opting for a dinner date with Daryl!

“I’d love to have lunch with you Daryl, but...” she hesitated.

“But what, Sweetheart? What’s the matter?”

Carol looked down at her clothes. “Well... I’m not wearing the most flattering of outfits today. Tara told me to wear something old, you know, something I wouldn’t mind getting dirty while we’re filming at the house. And since we’re gonna be tearing down the kitchen cabinets, ripping up carpet and painting and whatnot, I’m sure I might get a little sweaty and dirty. I feel really self-conscious already and we haven’t even gone anywhere yet, but... well I just want to look nice if we go out. I don’t want to embarrass you, in case you know... if the paparazzi spots you and take pictures of us. I mean, you’ve got models chasing after you. Can you imagine what the tabloids would say if they got a picture of you... with me... looking like this at a restaurant someplace?”

Daryl laughed. “You look fine to me. In fact ya look better than fine Carol... you look great. You look like you, and that’s what I liked about ya from the moment I laid eyes on ya. You’re gorgeous without makeup or with it. You’re real... a real woman and you’re like a breath of fresh air. Some of these pretentious show guests wear heels on the day of the demolition scenes... thinkin’ they’re impressin’ me, but they look like fools! How in the hell are we gonna convince the home audience that you’re helping with the renovations if you’re parading around in makeup, a damn mini-dress and sky high stilettoes? That happened not too long ago by the way.”

Carol laughed. “I’m sure it did. But I can’t say I blame them for trying. I was attracted to you before I knew who you were and now that I found out you’re famous I can understand exactly why you’re quite the hot commodity.”

“Stop,” he said, blushing.

“I mean it. Believe it or not, I started to wear a dress and heels my damn self when I realized I’d be seeing you again today.”

“Believe me, I’d LOVE to see you in a dress and heels, but I’m glad you didn’t,” he laughed. “But since you don’t want to do lunch what would you prefer? I really want to spend some time alone with you.”

Carol smiled. “Maybe we could... I don’t know... do dinner tonight instead? I mean if you’re not busy of course or have any other plans,” she added shyly. “I just wanna wear something nicer than... well this.”

“Like I said, you look fine just as you are, and the only plan I have aside from work in the near future is getting to know you better. I mean it Carol. I’m very interested in you,” Daryl admitted. “But I want you to be comfortable and happy so dinner it is. Believe it or not we’re only gonna be here at the house for about an hour or so; my team is gonna take over as soon as we finish filming a few short scenes. Then we’ll maybe spend another hour or two at the Housewares Warehouse picking out whatever you choose for the house, then we’re done for the day. We should be finished everything well before three. How about I drop you back at the studio when we’re all finished there so you can get your car, then I’ll pick you up from your place for dinner around seven?”

“That would be perfect. My daughters are staying with my parents until tomorrow, so I can stay out late,” she laughed. “When the cats are away, this mouse can play,” she then added with a flirty wink.

Daryl gave her a naughty grin. “Great. Just text me your address. So... where would you like to go, Carol?”

“I hadn’t thought of anyplace special. Surprise me.”

“Will do,” Daryl replied with a wink. “Maybe The Palm or King & Duke’s? I can get us a table at either of those without a reservation. All I’ve gotta do is call the manager.”

“Those are five star restaurants! I‘ve never been to either one. And it’s a Saturday... I bet the local paparazzi will spot us for sure,” she chuckled.

“Yeah.. the "paps" are worse than the cops... I can’t seem to duck those bastards these days.” He then slapped his forehead. “Carol... I just remembered something. Totally forgot about that... the press... well I positively hate to have to tell you this, but due to the confidentiality clauses of the network, we may have to keep our date tonight and any future dates a bit of a secret until after the show premier. Like I said I’m interested in you, getting to know you, dating you... whatever time you’ll give me the pleasure of spending with you, I want it, and I don’t want you to think I’m keeping you a secret per se, but if I’m seen on a date with a show guest prior to the show premiere it could affect future ratings. I know... its bullshit, but my persona on the show is as a single, hunky, handyman playboy and according to my PR man, Spencer Monroe, it’s what drove our ratings through the stratosphere with our female fan base. Some of our endorsements depend on it. The home audience might flip if it gets out that I’m dating a show guest; not to mention other guests may think you got special treatment, or the other women may all think they’ve actually got a shot at dating me or sleeping with me and it can cause a security issue. According to Spencer I’ve already had a few stalkers. Its insane but I’ve got some crazy, jealous fans out there. I know it sounds crazy, but once the show airs and a little time goes by, it shouldn’t be an issue for us to be seen together... but for now can we keep it hush hush?”

“Sure, I understand, and it’s no problem... but if that’s the case, where can we go? The only place you seem to go unrecognized is Hillbilly’s,” she laughed. 

He chuckled. “You’re right. And I know you don’t want to eat there.” He was thoughtful for a moment, then took her hand in his. “We’ve got two choices then... find another low key spot out of town someplace... or... you can let me cook for you... at my place. I’d love to have you.”

Carol didn’t even have to think about it. Dinner at home was much cozier and more romantic than a restaurant, any day. “Sounds like a plan. Where do you live? I’ll keep it confidential.” Carol knew he had a lakeside cabin in Senoia somewhere, and a beach property in Myrtle Beach, from her online sleuthing to find out more about him but she didn’t dare mention that.

“I trust you, Carol. During filming seasons I lease a penthouse apartment at the Imperial.”

Carol’s jaw dropped. Everyone knew that the condos at the Imperial building in downtown Atlanta were über expensive and FABULOUS, and rented for upwards of $10,000 a month. She was screaming inside. She’d been lusting after this gorgeous man for weeks and now he wanted to invite her to his home at one of the most expensive condo buildings in town and cook for her... ‘possibly in the nude’ she then thought to herself with a naughty grin.

“What would you like to eat?” he asked, breaking her reverie.

‘You...,’ she thought to herself. “Surprise me,” she then murmured.

“You like pasta?” he asked with a smirk.

“Love it!"

“I’ve been told I make a mean pot of spaghetti,” he admitted somewhat proudly. “I’ve got garlic bread in the freezer also.”

“That sounds amazing. I’ll bring some red wine... and maybe a little something for dessert.”

“You’re sweet enough for me,” he flirted. “Now let’s get inside before everyone starts wondering if I kidnapped you. Ezekiel will particularly wonder what’s keeping us,” he added. “I think he’s on to us already,” he chuckled and Carol gave him a knowing smile. Pretending that there wasn’t anything going on between them was going to be a challenge to say the least. Their strong attraction was beyond obvious. 

Once inside Carol’s house, Daryl introduced her to his hand-picked contracting crew. Construction foreman Theodore ‘T-Dog’ Douglass, as well as brothers Tyreese and Oscar Williams, master welder and carpenter respectively, house painter extraordinaire Paul “Jesus” Rovia, plumber Heath Jordan, professional landscaper Caesar Martinez and pool pro Tobin Lang were all assembled to start on whipping Carol’s house into shape in the next few weeks. All of the guys were friendly and as the afternoon progressed, Carol saw that their team worked together like a well-oiled machine. Although she’d stated on the earlier taping that she had to pick out paint, pool tiles, and carpets, etc., she’d already chosen those items prior to filming to expedite the process. She only had to be taped at the store picking them out with Daryl, as well as choose furniture and home décor items for her home with her remaining balance, which wouldn’t be shipped to the house until closer to her move in date for the final house ‘staging’ for the show’s episode premier. Carol got to help pull up the basement carpet, strip some of the wall paper in the second floor hallway, knock down a few cabinets in her kitchen with a sledgehammer, (with was fun and a great stress reliever, especially when she envisioned her ex-husband Ed’s face on every cabinet door,) and also got to help knock out two walls in her master bedroom suite to make space for the Jacuzzi tub and fireplace she planned to have installed. 

By the time she and Daryl were headed to the Housewares Warehouse she was starving. “Maybe we should have done lunch after all,” she laughed.

“Carol we can stop at a drive through someplace real quick if you’d like, we’re making good timing. The videographer’s still gotta set up at the store before we start filming.”

She shook her head. “And risk not having room for my spaghetti at your place later? Forget about it!” 

They arrived at Housewares Warehouse and after being filmed pretending to pick out the paint, flooring, carpets, cabinets and pool tiles that had already been ordered for her house, she then checked out some furniture. Carol was very thrifty but Daryl encouraged her to get whatever she wanted and to go all out since she had so much left in her budget so she picked out beautiful new bedroom sets for her girls, a gorgeous dining room set, home accent pieces including paintings and vases, as well as her new Jacuzzi, a top of the line model guaranteed to offer her years of relaxation in the future. She secretly hoped Daryl would want to join her in it someday, and almost had to fan herself at the smoking hot images of his sexy, muscular body submerged under the bubbles that popped into her mind, but she kept them to herself... 

Finally they wrapped up for the day and Ezekiel let Carol know that the network would be in touch in a couple of weeks to let her know how things were progressing at the house, and to schedule taping for her move in. Daryl then took her to get her car, and reminded her that dinner would be ready at 8.

Carol flew home like a bat out of hell, stopping only to pick up half a dozen cupcakes from a gourmet bakery near her house; she already had wine at home that she could take to Daryl’s. On the ride, she desperately wanted to call Jacqui; she was the only person she could trust with her date plans after all, but after much debating, she opted not to. She knew she’d see Jacqui that next afternoon at the cookout and could tell her then, smiling like a Cheshire cat as she decided to keep her news to herself a little longer. Once at home she took a short nap, after a hot bubble bath, she started to dress in the outfit she’d originally planned to wear that morning, then changed her mind yet again and opted for a little black dress that showcased her amazing legs, and a tall pair of nude pumps; understated yet undeniably sexy. After styling her hair and adding a bit of makeup she hoped that Daryl would like what he saw. 

At 7:30 sharp she headed downtown to Daryl’s building and a doorman at the front entrance let her know that Mr. Dixon was expecting her, and that a valet driver would take care of her vehicle. Once inside, her mouth almost gaped at the plush décor and sheer opulence of the lobby alone which made her wonder what the apartments in the place must look like. She was then escorted to the crystal penthouse elevator, and when she arrived on Daryl’s floor, she could smell the aroma of Italian cuisine coming through his front door. She rang the bell, and although she was expecting a butler or a maid to answer, she was surprised when Daryl answered himself, looking like a million bucks in a black shirt that showed off his amazing pecs and shoulders, and a pair of black slacks. “Wow... you look really beautiful, Carol. I’m so glad you’re here,” he murmured, taking the wine and cupcakes from her before handing her a single red rose, and invited her inside. The passionate look in his eye as he stared down at her from under his shaggy bangs made her breath catch and her core flood and she hoped she’d be able to keep her cool, and not jump him before the night was over...


	12. Dinner Sans Dessert

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daryl can barely contain the passion he feels for Carol; Carol nearly gives in during a moment of weakness...

Once inside, Carol told Daryl how good the food smelled and he accepted her compliment with a proud smile. He told her to make herself comfortable and let her know that dinner would be ready shortly, then disappeared back into the kitchen. She looked around and took in the striking décor before taking a seat on an oversized leather L-shaped couch facing a glass wall that overlooked the entire downtown landscape. The chic bachelor’s pad was decorated in various shades of chocolate brown and tan with a few black and brass accent pieces, and there were scented candles everywhere. The room showcased deep, plush carpets, Asian fans and landscape paintings, a pit style fireplace and a huge flat screen projection TV, as well as a state of the art hidden surround sound speaker system that had a classic soft rock playlist on rotation playing in the background. Carol was impressed with the atmosphere and told Daryl so when he returned a moment later with two glasses of wine and a tray of assorted appetizers.

“I can’t take the credit Sweetheart... the place came like this,” he admitted, then promised her a tour before she left for the evening. He then slid in beside her on the couch. “Carol just let me say again how glad I am that you’re here. I’m really looking forward to getting to know you better.” He hesitated, then glanced at her shyly. “Um, may I make a toast?” he asked her, holding up his glass.

“Of course... to what?” she replied, holding up her own glass.

“To the beginning of something wonderful?” Daryl murmured shyly.

“I’ll definitely drink to that,” Carol said with a wink, and they clinked their glasses together before taking sips of their wine.

They talked awhile then the 80’s classic “Lady In Red” by Chris DeBurgh began playing softly on the stereo. Carol wasn’t dressed in red, but the lyrics, “never seen you looking so lovely as you do tonight,” made Daryl stare at her intently. She was breathtaking. He stood and held out his hand. “Carol, would you dance with me?” he asked her shyly. ‘Of course,” she replied and when she rose he took her in his arms and held her close. They swayed to the music and he lightly caressed her back, sighing contentedly as he inhaled the scent of her sweet perfume. He’d been dying to hold her in his arms for weeks, and it was like a dream come true; he finally had her where he wanted her to be. 

 

Carol laid her head against Daryl’s muscular chest and when he wrapped his strong arms around her she could hear his heartbeat. They swayed to the music and she shivered when he slowly slid his big, work calloused hands down her back and ever so lightly ghosted them over the curve of her ass and before long she could feel his impressive erection pressing against her belly. “Daryl,” Carol whispered with a small gasp of surprise at his obvious arousal and Daryl jumped back like he’d been burned but she held onto him and pulled him back in closer and gazed up at him through her lashes. He was staring down at her so intently that she just knew he was going to kiss her, and she closed her eyes and parted her lips in anticipation... but then suddenly a loud, shrill clock timer began going off in the kitchen.

(Talk about killing a vibe!)

“Carol I... uh... sorry, um... dinner’s ready,” Daryl muttered, before releasing her from his embrace.

“Great,” Carol muttered with more of a frown than a smile on her lips as he then led her into the adjacent dining room. For the first time in her life she was disappointed that her food was ready! Daryl smirked knowingly as he pulled out one of the high backed, iron wrought chairs for her to sit on at the formally set dining table, and Carol was impressed with its silk tablecloth, Mikasa fine china porcelain dishes, Baccarat crystal water goblets, Godinger silverware, scented candles and fresh cut flowers in Swarovski crystal vases. A few moments later he’d brought out a large garden salad with assorted dressings, pan piled high with piping hot garlic bread and then finally, the main course, the huge, steaming big pot of Sicilian style spaghetti with homemade red wine meat sauce and assorted cheeses.

The food was superb to say the least; Daryl had some major skills in the kitchen. As they enjoyed their delicious dinner Carol complimented him on his cooking skills more than once. They continued getting acquainted, and flirted a little more while they ate, but also discussed her new home of course, their respective families, and about their former spouses, and deeper into the conversation, they discussed what they wanted from each other if they started a relationship. Daryl hung onto her every word; he couldn’t take his eyes off her for a moment, and Carol initially felt a little self-conscious under his close scrutiny, but as the night wore on she couldn’t help feeling more a little aroused because of his undying attention to her every word, and anticipation of her every desire; constantly touching her hands while they spoke, refilling her glass with more wine, and even playfully feeding her a few mouthfuls of food which was so romantic Carol thought she’d melt right there on the spot. After dinner, Daryl lit a fire in the sitting room and they slow danced a little more before Daryl made a pot of coffee and they sat on the plush couch as they shared the gourmet cupcakes she’d brought for dessert and watched the blazing fire, and stared into each other’s eyes.

Once it hit midnight, Carol knew she had to get the hell out of there before she utterly jumped the sexy man before her. She stood reluctantly and slipped back into her pumps, and let Daryl know that she’d be leaving shortly then reminded him that he’d promised her a quick tour of his home before she left. 

Daryl was disappointed to say the least. He didn’t want her to go and implored her to stay a little longer, yet relented to show her all of the rooms in the entire penthouse, including his palatial master bedroom suite, which Carol couldn’t help noticing how big and plush his California King sized bed looked. He then took her up on the rooftop balcony where they viewed the Atlanta skyline and did a little stargazing in the moonlight. She shivered a little from the breeze and Daryl immediately stepped in closely behind her and lightly caressed her exposed shoulders. Her tanned and lightly freckled skin was so soft and warm it was driving him completely nuts. He was trying to remain a gentleman but he was beyond aroused by her mere presence and it hadn’t helped that she hadn’t rebuked any of his seemingly bold advances of the night. He wanted to touch her body and kiss her all over but he was trying to be patient even though it was becoming harder and harder not to kiss her at least and his swollen manhood was becoming harder and harder as well, just from being so close to her and smelling her sweet perfume.

“Daryl, it’s so beautiful up here. The view is amazing!” she murmured, breaking his reverie while leaning back against him.

“Not as beautiful or amazing as you,” he whispered into her hair. “I know this is gonna sound crazy but I’m falling hard for you already,” he admitted. Carol had lit a flame in him and his blood raged hot in his veins for her alone.

Carol turned around in his arms and boldly pressed her breasts against his chest. “First you make me the most delicious dinner anyone’s ever made for me, and now for dessert you tell me the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard...” she whispered in a flirtatious tone. You’re spoiling me rotten Daryl Dixon. You keep it up and you won’t be able to get rid of me,” she jokingly replied with a wink. 

“Don’t want to. In fact you don’t have to leave now if you don’t want to.” Just the thought of her staying over made his cock throb. He wanted to taste her... then bury himself deep inside and stay there until the morning. “Hell, stay all night if you wanna...” he murmured against her neck.

Carol’s brows raised. She could feel his raging erection yet again... and she wanted it! Was he really asking her to stay the night? She knew she couldn’t... well shouldn’t... but God did she ever need it. It had been a VERY LONG time since a man made her feel the way Daryl was making her feel and she knew it was gonna be REALLY HARD to turn him down... she had a feeling that Daryl Dixon had the skills to put her to sleep in the best possible way.

Daryl immediately blushed bright red however; the last thing he wanted to do was to offend her. He was getting ahead of himself. “Not to imply that I’m expecting us to... I mean I don’t want you to think I thought we we’re gonna... ” he stammered. “No, I mean I... well I hope you don’t think that I expected that we...” he was at a loss for words.

“Just kiss me already,” Carol murmured, while sliding her fingers through his shaggy brown locks. "I know you want to," she flirted with a smirk then after locking her lips with his she moaned wantonly as he pushed his long tongue inside her mouth and his passionate kiss took her breath away. 

“Mmmm,” he groaned into her mouth, as he boldly ran his hands up and down her back, possessively cupping her ass while kissing her deeply, causing Carol to whimper and sigh from the aroused state he was putting her in as they kissed and kissed until they were both breathless, then finally coming up for air and staring at each other intently.

“What the hell was that?” she gasped as she ran her hands up his muscled back.

“I don’t know... but I wanna do it again,” he growled, staring at her intently before cupping her face in his hands then kissing her passionately again and again. He couldn’t get enough as he hungrily plundered her mouth with his long tongue. “I want you, woman,” he grunted in a low, husky tone.

“Oh Daryl...” she moaned into his mouth between heated kisses. “Maybe I should go before we go too far too soon...”

“Please,” Daryl murmured, pulling her snug against his erection. “I need you, Carol.” He was ready to go. He had a drawer full of condoms in his room and a damn near insatiable appetite for the woman before him. He wanted to kiss her all over, taste her intimately... again and again... then make love to her until they were spent. He’d had his fair share of women and hot sex, but no other woman he’d known had EVER made him feel this way in his life... and they hadn’t even slept together yet. It was like he could sense that she was MADE FOR HIM!

“I know... but I think I should go,” she whispered, despite thinking about the dozens of ways he could please her with that raging monster in his pants and not daring to stop the onslaught of moist, passionate kisses he then began raining onto her neck and hint of cleavage exposed in her little black dress. 

“Please, Carol,” he gasped between kisses. "Wanna taste you," he moaned.

"Oh shit," She moaned as he then began lightly tracing her stiff nipples through the fabric of her dress. “Oh Daryl... I want you too... But it’s so soon... it’s our first date.”

“Who cares?” he whined. He then tried to compose himself. He respected her enough to respect her wishes, even if it KILLED him. “I’m sorry... I won’t pressure you,” he gasped between soft kisses all over her exposed cleavage. “But... I don’t know when were gonna see each other again...” he murmured, reminding her that they had to keep their budding relationship under wraps initially. “I’ll let you go for now... but remember we ain’t through, woman,” he growled, kissing her again soundly then finally releasing her reluctantly. “Next time, I aim to make you mine,” he said with promise, and she shook her head in agreement.

Carol felt dizzy as he then kissed her a final time then led her from the balcony back down to the main floor of the penthouse. He called the valet and asked that her car be brought to the door, and when he walked Carol out, he kissed her a final time, with the promise for more to come in the very near future, and it took every ounce of restraint Carol had to get into her car and drive home. ‘I think I’m falling in love with Daryl Dixon,’ she thought to herself as she hit the highway.


	13. Out Of The Bag

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The secret's out... well sort of...

As Daryl headed back upstairs to take care of his throbbing erection with a cold shower, all he could think of was how he’d already fallen in love with Carol.

The next morning, Daryl felt so exhausted that he’d slept in and by noon he ‘d crawled back into bed to enjoy a coffee and a toasted croissant while perusing the front page of the Atlanta Times. Carol was still heavily on his mind, and all morning he’d been thinking about how it would’ve felt to wake up with her in his arms. Just then his cell began buzzing on his bedside table. He jumped and grabbed for it quickly, not daring to miss the call if it was Carol ringing him, but when he glanced at the screen he saw that it was his good friend and coworker T-Dog calling.

“’Sup T,” he answered. 

“Hey Dixon! Sorry to call ya so early,” he laughed. He knew that noon on a Sunday was quite early for Daryl.

“It’s cool, buddy,” he chuckled. “I’m surprised yer not at church with yer family on this fine Sunday mornin’!”

“We went to the early 9 am service today. Heading to Sunday brunch down at Georgia Brown’s now, then the wife and I are taking the kids to see Black Panther at the movies this afternoon.”

“Oh yeah I heard its freakin’ awesome! Was thinkin’ about heading out later on to see it myself. But what can I do fer ya brother?”

“Well... I noticed something yesterday at the Woodbury home site... you know, at the new house were working on out on Apocalypse Drive.”

Daryl’s brow raised. “Something go wrong after I left?”

T chuckled. “Well no, but... well, I couldn’t help noticing...” he hesitated.

“Noticing what? Look T if anything’s wrong with the plans just let me know. Even if it’s out of the budget I’ll take care of it. I’ll be down there first thing in the morning, or can stop by this afternoon if need be, and I plan on being there all next week too. I know the crew usually handles just about everything in my stead most often nowadays because I’m so busy with the show crap, but I’m planning on taking a real hands on approach with this house in particular. I want it to be done fast, and I need for everything to be perfect.”

“I figured as much,” T-Dog chuckled. He’d noticed how Daryl had been extra picky about every aspect of the home repairs the previous day, and had seemed more than enamored over the woman who’d bought the place. It was obvious that there was something goin on between them, but T-Dog wanted to be sure.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Daryl asked, immediately taking the defensive.

“We’ve known each other what, eleven, twelve years Dixon? It’s pretty obvious, man,” he chuckled again. “My cousin even noticed it,” he then added, referring to Tyreese.

“Noticed what?” Daryl asked, dumbfounded.

“We noticed your deep interest in this particular house... and even more so in its new owner. It’s Carol, right?” he gigged.

“Yeah her name’s Carol... but what about her?” Daryl asked with a sigh.

“You’re crazy about her, aren’t you?” T-Dog asked with a smirk.

“What makes ya say that T? I didn’t do anything out of the ordinary. I mean, she’s a show guest... its against the rules! Shes pretty so I might've been checking her out but any men might do that. Besides, I gotta be nice to her, she just bought a house from us,” he rambled in an exasperated tone.

“Never seen ya be this nice, Dixon. Nor ever seen ya so distracted. You were damn near droolin’ over the woman. Like I said , it was pretty obvious,” he laughed. “Im surprised nobody else said anything!”

“Look man, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he lied.

“Whatever Dixon... either way your secret’s safe with me. You’re a horrible liar by the way,” he laughed.

All Daryl could do was laugh right along with him. He couldn’t deny his feelings for Carol a second longer, especially with a good friend like T-Dog. “Okay, okay, I’m crazy about her, alright! Have been fer weeks now. Would you believe that she’s the woman from the diner that I told you about?”

“Get the hell outta here! Well what are you gonna do about it? She seems like a great lady. She mentioned that she was divorced.... you better ask her out before somebody else does. Tobin was talking to her an awful lot yesterday. You know how he is. Poor bastard falls in love if a pretty woman so much as smiles at him,” he chuckled. "Not to mention I caught him staring at her ass more than once."

“The hell did you say?” Daryl growled from the deep feeling of jealousy that suddenly ripped through him. 

T-Dog howled with laughter. “Just kidding, man... damn!” he laughed. “They were talking but that was it. It was totally innocent.”

“Good cuz I didn’t want to have to fire Tobin's ass cuz he can't keep his goddamned eyes to himself,” Daryl replied playfully. “Besides... Carol and I already talked. Had dinner here at my place last night as a matter of fact. She’s interested in me too. Has been fer months... long before she knew who I actually was... ever since I started going to that diner. We decided we're gonna start a relationship... and we damn near slept together last night,” he then murmured, growing stiff in his boxer briefs once more just from the memory of caressing Carol's back, touching her breasts and kissing her soft lips until they were both breathless. "Took everything in me to hold back... she's so hot!"

“Damn! But I thought you said she shot you down a few weeks back,” T-Dog replied, interrupting Daryl’s heated thoughts.

“She did... but she explained that she only turned me down because so many guys come on to her at work and she had to keep it professional. But she wanted to go out with me all along, and now I have the same problem. You know Spencer will fuckin’ flip if he finds out I’m seeing her. We gotta keep our relationship under wraps until the show airs and the season is over.”

“Well like I said the secret’s safe with me, but the way you two look at each other might burn up the screen when the show airs!” T laughed.

“Oh shut up!” Daryl groaned before ending the call.


	14. Sunday Afternoon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carol confides in Jacqui...

Meanwhile on the other side of town, Carol had already been up for several hours. She’d tossed and turned all night long after her romantic evening with Daryl. She couldn’t take her mind off of him. After a while she got up, made a pot of coffee and had a little breakfast before starting on a few chores. She baked the pan of cornbread to take to Jacqui’s house later on in the day, then after doing a few loads of laundry for her girls, she began cleaning her apartment and in the midst of all of the vacuuming and scrubbing her thoughts kept returning to Daryl; after all, the way he’d touched and kissed her the night before hadn’t at all been easy to forget. Leaving the comfort of his arms had been the toughest thing she’d had to do in ages; she’d wanted to feel his big, strong hands all over her body. When he’d said that he wanted to ‘taste’ her, she knew he meant it in the kinkiest of ways and in the naughtiest of places, and she had a very strong feeling that he’d be beyond good at the task if his deep, passionate kisses were any indication. ‘God, that man’s a good kisser,’ she thought to herself with a smirk. Her lips were still a bit kiss swollen from the damn near hour or so that they’d made out on his rooftop balcony so she just knew that he’d be able to make her climax with his lips and that long tongue of his alone. She’d also watched him closely while he’d devoured his spaghetti dinner as well and quivered from the memory of how ravenously he’d consumed his meal and could only imagine how voraciously he’d go down on her when she finally let him at it and couldn’t help letting out a loud, naughty giggle; Daryl Dixon made her feel like a horny, love crazy teenager. 

“Speaking of teenagers,” she then said to herself while grabbing her cell phone to call the girls. She’d suddenly remembered that they were clueless of the family’s dinner invitation and had to let them know that she’d be picking them up earlier from her parents’ house than planned so that they could all attend the cookout at Jacqui & Morgan’s house. She called her parents’ home and Dale answered.

“Kedvenc lányom!” Dale exclaimed in Hungarian.

Carol giggled as she easily translated the words, ‘my favorite daughter,’ then replied “En vagyok az egyetlen lanya!” or ‘I'm your only daughter,’ making Dale laugh heartily.

“I’m so glad that you haven’t forgotten your Hungarian, my dear,” he said with a proud smile. “How are you?”

“I’m alright. How are you and Mom?”

“Fine, fine. We had breakfast not long ago and now she’s out in the yard. Mika’s helping her in the vegetable garden.”

“And where are the teenaged rugrats?” Carol laughed. 

“My little Lizzie is watching a movie on the computer and Soph is talking a mile a minute on her cell of course,” he laughed. “Someone named Carl, I believe,” he added in a dramatic and breathless tone.

“Oh yes... the infamous Carl Grimes,” Carol chuckled while rolling her eyes. “I’m sure she is. That girl is glued to the telephone these days. All we hear about is Carl this and Carl that. Carl let me wear his letterman’s jacket; Carl is taking me to the movies; Carl got recruited for the varsity basketball team... blah blah blah. He’s her first crush turned boyfriend... so you know how that goes.”

“Don’t I know it... I had a teenaged daughter once,” he chuckled, then went on. “Grimes... Grimes... hmmm... that sounds awfully familiar.” He was thoughtful for a moment. “Is this young Carl fellow possibly related to King County Deputy Sheriff Rick Grimes?” 

“Yes, Rick Grimes is Carl’s dad! You know him? His wife Lori was Mika’s teacher last year!"

“Yes I know Grimes! He's a good man, so I’m sure that son of his a good kid,” Dale replied. “And don’t you worry, pretty soon all Soph and the other girls will be able to think about is moving once you find a house! Any luck yesterday, by the way?”

Carol smiled to herself. She’d told her parents that she was going house hunting every weekend and to keep it a secret from the kids, but they were all totally clueless that she’d already purchased one and would be featured on the Builder Brothers show in less than two months. “Actually I did see a few homes that I really liked that were in my budget, one in particular in fact but I’d love for you to come take a look at it with me before I even think about putting in a bid. It’s been on the market for quite a long while however so I’m not too worried about anyone buying it right away, but I’d love for you to come with me to take a look at it soon, whenever you’re free?”

“Sure dear, just let me know. I’m retired so I have nothing but free time. But don’t dawdle too long honey, if you really like the house, I’m sure others will as well and I'd hate for you to lose it.”

“I certainly hope not!” Carol chuckled. She then let Dale know that she’d be there to pick up the girls at around 4 o’clock that afternoon to take them to a cookout at Jacqui's, and after hanging up, she noticed that during the call she’d gotten a text message from Daryl, letting her know that he was thinking of her and missed her already which made her blush terribly and smile big as anything. ‘Daryl Dixon, you are really something,” she thought to herself as she quickly replied to the message.

\---------

Carol arrived at Jacqui and Morgan’s house with the girls in tow around 4:30. 

“Just in time!” Morgan exclaimed from his spot behind the grill as they were all ushered into the backyard by his son Duane. Carol grinned and hugged Morgan then planted a peck on his cheek; his apron did say “Kiss The Cook” after all. Sophia was ecstatic when Duane let her know that he’d just invited Carl over and that he said he’d be there soon, and Mika was excited to learn that he’d be bringing Judith along. A little while later Duane’s girlfriend Enid arrived with her cousin Ron in tow and it wasn’t long before Ron began making puppy love eyes at Lizzie.

The teens engaged in a game of volleyball while waiting for the hot dogs, burgers and ribs to get done on the grill, and after chatting with Morgan awhile and discreetly showing him a few pictures of the house on her cell (unbeknownst to the girls of course,) Carol headed inside for a little girl talk with Jacqui. Morgan let her know that she was in the kitchen the last time he’d seen her.

As suspected, Carol found the lady of the house in her gourmet, galley style kitchen. Jacqui was a fabulous cook and was in her element as she effortlessly whipped up a huge batch of her world famous potato salad; wine glass in one hand and a big wooden spoon in the other. “So Mz. Carol...” she began in a teasing tone, “how did things go yesterday? Anything interesting happen between you and you know who?” she giggled, pouring Carol a glass of Prosecco then taking a sip of her own.

Carol knew that she could confide in her friend and trust her to be discreet. In fact, Jacqui was the only person in the world that she could talk to about everything going on concerning Daryl with no holds barred. “Oh my God, Jacqui, he’s amazing! I thought it was going to be awkward at first, but he is the biggest sweetheart ever! He even made me dinner last night... at his place! Get this... he lives in the Imperial.”

“Say what?” Jacqui exclaimed.

“Yes! It was beyond fabulous, okay.”

“I bet it was! Those are the nicest condos in town! So... what happened after dinner? You two gonna get together or what?” she giggled again with a naughty glint in her eye.

“Yes... we decided to start a relationship! But according to him we have to keep it under wraps initially because of the network and all. But that’s okay because I’d prefer to move slow anyway. Besides, I’ve wanted him for months, long before I knew who he was, and he admitted the same, so a little longer wont hurt. But it was hard as hell to walk out of there last night without getting some. He touched me like I wanted to be touched and he kissed me so long I thought I was gonna faint and God was he good at it. That man is beyond HOT if you know what I mean!”

“Oh I know! I’ve been lusting after him for the past two seasons of the show! Just promise you’ll fill me in on all the dirty details when you finally get some nooky from that gorgeous man!”

“I will! He already let me know that I am ‘on the menu’' on our next date, if you know what I mean!” Carol replied and Jacqui squealed with laughter at her innuendo. 

“I know just what you mean honey... my Morgan has quite the appetite of his own for me if you know what I mean!” The ladies giggled yet again and they clinked their glasses in a toast before carrying the rest of the food outside so that everyone could eat on the patio.


	15. Blossoming Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reflections on Carol and Daryl's feelings and the progression of their relationship...

The days turned into weeks, and the weeks turned into months; nearly two of them to be exact, and time for filming the last part of Carol’s Builder Brothers episode for the show premier was just around the corner. 

Carol and Daryl maintained their secret relationship, mostly via their nearly constant texting, daily phone calls, a few secret meetings when their crazy schedules matched up and they could spend a stolen night together at little motels just out of town, and mostly via their nightly phone conversations that, as soon as she was sure her kids were long asleep, almost always turned into steamy phone sex sessions that left them both panting for each other when they finally hung up. The passion they felt for each other had grown so intense over the few months since they’d started their relationship that they wanted each other more and more and it was getting harder and harder to part every time their brief times together came to an end.

By that time Carol was COMPLETELY crazy about Daryl; it was obvious that their infatuation had blossomed into true love. It was at the point that although she hadn’t introduced them yet, her girls were very aware of Daryl’s presence in her life and could see how happy he made her, and they were beyond curious about finally meeting him. Lizzie & Mika had even begun to joke that Carol talked to whomever her mystery man was even more than Sophia talked to Carl which in itself was nothing less than a miracle, and Carol only laughed and promised them that she’d introduce them to her ‘special friend’ very soon. 

Daryl on the other hand was TOTALLY smitten with Carol. He spoiled her rotten with frequent surprise gift deliveries at her home and at her job, usually fruit baskets, fine chocolates, balloons and long stem roses and Carol was beyond shocked when he offered to begin helping her out with a few of her financial responsibilities. Carol initially refused, but Daryl insisted; he loved her and wanted to help take care of her so that she wouldn’t have to work so hard and would have more time for her girls, (and in time, for him.) Carol was touched and finally swallowed her pride and let him help; she kept her full time job at the nursing home of course, only cutting back on some of her hours here and there, and she was able to finally quit her job at Hillbilly’s for once and for all. Daryl was ecstatic that she’d allowed him to be part of her life, and looked forward to meeting and getting to know the girls. He’d fallen plumb crazy in love with Carol and at that point that he could barely think straight; he couldn’t wait until her show episode finally aired. Her episode was the final one of the season and he had a few months of vacation time from filming scheduled afterward and he fully planned to finally spend as much real quality time with his woman out in the open as he could. Once the show aired, they would be free to date without his contract restrictions due to confidentiality clauses looming over his head from the network and Spencer, his PR manager, who was still intent on him maintaining his playboy persona to keep the show’s ratings up with their mostly female fan base, but Daryl couldn’t care less. He wasn’t going to forfeit his happiness any longer; he figured that if his fans really cared for him (which he thought they really might,) he knew that deep down they’d want him to be happy, and he already knew that he could only be happy with the woman he loved.


	16. Moving Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carol lays down the law...

Daryl was serious when he'd told T-Dog that he wanted to be hands on personally to get Carol's house finished as quickly as possible; he'd helped the team nearly every day on each of the renovation project plans that they’d normally handled on their own in order to speed things along, and had even stayed late at the site after hours some nights on his own to get a head start on the following day's work; doing a little bit of everything, from painting, laying carpet, tiling the pool and putting in the kitchen cabinets to installing the fireplace in Carol’s master bedroom and planting shrubs and flowers in the backyard as well as doing the plumbing work for the Jacuzzi tub that went into her luxury en suite master bath. He'd initially anticipated that all of the work on Carol's house would be finished in five to six weeks, but due to all the extra work he'd done to help things along, he'd cut the time down to only four. 

In the meantime, the summer was flying by. It was already the second week of August, and filming the final part of Carol's Builder Brothers episode was only a few days away. In a few more weeks school would be starting and Carol wanted to be all moved into the new house before that time to get the girls settled in. 

Fortunately they'd all be staying at their current schools with all of their friends, and would be living a lot closer to many of them as well; in fact, their new neighborhood was a short few blocks over from her good friend’s the Grimes’; she knew Sophia would be ecstatic about being so close to Carl, and since they were both healthy teenagers with raging hormones as well as a deep fondness for one another that was very obvious to everyone who’d been around them, Carol didn’t know if that was such a good idea anymore, especially now that Carl had gotten a car for his sixteenth birthday. She didn’t plan on stopping Sophia from dating him however; she knew her daughter very well; she had a good head on her shoulders and had talked to her about the birds and the bees and everything else in between and trusted her to make good decisions for her future. She’d had a similar talk very recently with Lizzie as well; she and Morgan's son Duane's buddy Ron had become fast friends after meeting at the cookout at Morgan and Jacqui's house and then began dating not long after and Carol approved; just like with Sophia, as long as school and family always came first and as long as they were honest about what they were doing and where they were going, they could have their special friendships with the boys they cared for. They’d both just turned 15 after all, and Carol knew that she couldn’t really stop them from being friends with the guys anyway; and truth be told, they were both nice, respectful boys from good families (but to err on the side of caution, Carol occasionally put just enough fear in the two of them to keep them on their toes!)

Carol had long since given notice to the rental office of breaking her lease and moving out of the apartment before the end of August and had already paid the fee out of her leftover show bonus money (which was close to thirty thousand dollars,) and she used the rest to furnish the rest of the rooms in the house, secure a moving company, buy a good home owners insurance policy for any unforeseen emergencies in the future, knock a good sized chunk off of her mortgage loan principal, and after all that she still had a hefty sized nest egg in the bank.

She had planned for the house to be a big surprise for the girls as well as for her parents and she and Daryl had come up with the perfect plot to pull of the surprise. For the past few Sunday afternoons in a row, she'd started “randomly” taking her daughters to open house showings around town, to get their feedback on the houses. Of course she didn’t make too much of a fuss about it, and told them that “wasn’t quite ready to buy just yet, but had finally saved up enough money to start seriously looking.” The girls were happy about the news and had dozens of opinions on where they should move to and the type of house they should get, but since she’d said that buying wasn’t imminent just yet, they weren’t phased in the least when on Thursday evening she mentioned to them that they’d be going to look at yet another house on that coming Saturday morning. She told them that she’d found it online and wanted them to see it to get their opinion because she felt really special about it because the pictures reminded her of the ‘Brady Bunch house.’ She hadn’t expected any opposition of course, and was shocked when she received a healthy dose of it for all her trouble... from all three of her daughters!

“Saturday morning!” Sophia groaned.

“I thought that you had to work!” Lizzie added.

“Yeah!” Mika chimed in. 

Apparently they’d all already made plans... unbeknownst to their mother.

“Look girls, someone asked me to switch with them at the diner on Saturday... so I’m off, and Saturday morning is it!” Carol replied.

“But Grandma said she’s taking us to get mani-pedis on Saturday morning,” Mika replied with a frown.

“Yeah, and Lizzie and I already told Ron and Carl to meet us at the mall after our nails get done so that we could have lunch then go to the movies after,” Sophia added.

“And Carl’s bringing Judy to watch a movie with me!” Mika added.

“Can’t we just go to the open house on Sunday afternoon like we’ve been doing?” Lizzie whined.

“No we cannot go on Sunday... the date on the realtor’s website said that the homeowner of this particular house is only available for showings on Saturday mornings. Besides I have to go in at the diner the next day so Sunday’s out,” she smirked, chuckling to herself at the ‘little white lies.’ She’d quit the diner weeks ago, thanks to Daryl’s help and support! Besides, Carol knew she had to be firm. Fortunately she didn’t have to go to the studio, but filming was scheduled for ten am sharp on Saturday at the home site. 

“But what about our nails?” Mika whined, breaking her reverie. 

“And our double date?” both Sophia and Lizzie then chimed in simultaneously, in true “wonder twin” fashion, in an equally high pitched, near hysterical tone.

Carol rolled her eyes at their theatrics. God forbid if they missed a movie date with Carl and Ron! “Look girls... I never said you couldn’t get your nails done, or go to your movie! You’ll just have to go later on in the afternoon that’s all! Open houses don’t take all day! You know we never stay at any of them longer than an hour or so! I just really like this house... and it’s very important to me that you’re on board as I began this search for the perfect place for our family. Besides, you know that the only places I can afford on our budget right now are a bit old so I’ve already asked your Grandpa a few days ago if he’d mind looking at this one with me on Saturday, so you girls can just ride home with him when we leave the open house. That way Grandma can take you for your nail appointment, and you can still have your little movie dates afterward. Just call the guys and reschedule for later in the afternoon, that’s all I’m saying. So I don’t want to hear another peep out of you about it. You’re going.” Carol made certain to put a little base in her voice with that last line to let the girls know that she meant business and was not in the mood for any more of their tantrums or sass. She knew however, that by assuring that they could still do what they wanted to do later on in the day, that she wouldn’t have to deal with any attitudes, particularly from the twins; (they were teenagers in every sense of the word, ad quite moody when they wanted to be,) but Carol was still and always would be the BOSS. She then went on. “And it’s fine with me if you three rug rats are outta my hair for the remainder of my day off on Saturday. In fact you can spend the night at Grandma & Grandpa’s that night for all I care! As a matter of fact, I’m gonna set that up right now, so make sure you pack your sleepover bags... and... I think I’m gonna plan a little date of my own on Saturday night,” she then added with a smirk before immediately texting Daryl. The girls all groaned, but Carol knew they'd soon get over it!


	17. Open House

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carol and her family finally see the house!

On Saturday morning, Carol was nearly giddy with excitement from anticipation of the joy the day was bound to hold. It was FINALLY time to reveal her big secret to her daughters and parents. She'd gotten up bright and early to get ready, and woke the girls not long after so they'd get showered and dressed in a timely fashion. Mika was always pretty quick about getting ready most of the time but ever since the twins started dating a few months prior they now both took FOREVER while getting dressed every day due to curling each other's long hair and doing each other's nails and makeup, taking either long, luxurious bubble baths or showers, then changing outfits at least twice every time they had to go anywhere for ‘selfie’ photo shoot opportunities to send to their new boyfriends. Carol wanted to scream when she realized they were taking forever but she had to act nonchalant about the fake 'open house' tour; she was simply glad that she'd awakened them extra early. Her goal had been to roll out promptly at about a quarter after 9 but she could push it until 9:30 at the very latest if she had to. Fortunately their new neighborhood wasn't far away but she had to get to the house on time for filming, and she didn't want to appear like she was rushing. She then called her father to remind him to meet her at the "open house" at ten am sharp, then adding that he'd be taking the girls home with him afterward since they'd be spending the night at his home that evening. She then stated that she really wished that he would convince her mom come along as well, adding that it wouldn't take long to view the house, and since her mom had plans to take the girls out to the mall afterward anyway she could kill two birds with one stone, Carol added, then stressed just how much she loved the house and that she really wanted her mom's opinion about it as well.

"You must really be crazy about this house, Carol!" Dale exclaimed. He was surprised at how serious she sounded. "I'll do my best to persuade your mother to come along." 

"Please do!" Carol exclaimed keeping up the act. She knew she had to lay it on thick; it was imperative that both of her parents were there when the cameras started rolling. "Dad I need you to take a look at it first, but I really think that this house might be the one," she added while holding in her excited giggle. She just KNEW that her parents were gonna flip when they found out that the house was already hers! 

"We'll both be there honey, I promise!" Dale exclaimed. 

\---------

They ended up leaving a bit earlier than Carol thought they would so she had to kill a little time. It was imperative that they arrived at the house as close to 10 on the nose as she could. On the ride, she purposely took a back road to get to their destination in a roundabout way in an attempt to throw the girls off. Fortunately, Mika was playing a game on her tablet, and both Sophia and Lizzie were on their cell phones, as usual, no doubt texting Carl and Ron so initially they weren’t paying much attention, and hadn’t noticed that Carol had actually driven in a big circle and had passed their own neighborhood twice. 

After a while however Carol got on the I-85 beltway and Mika looked up with a furrowed brow. “Mom... are we lost? It seems like we’ve been driving a long time.”

“No, were not lost, baby,” Carol chuckled. “We just left a little while ago, and I promise we’ll be there soon.”

“But we’re getting on the highway,” she replied. “I don’t want to live far away from Pop Pop and Gran.”

“And we don’t wanna have to switch schools,” Lizze whined. 

“Yeah Mom,” Sophia chimed in. “Where is this place? We’ve been driving over half an hour!”

“I told you we’d be there soon. According to my GPS were five minutes away,” Carol groaned as she exited the beltway. 

Sophia looked around and immediately noticed a few familiar landmarks, including Jenner’s Restaurant, the Woodbury Commons Mall, Hilltop Roller Rink and Bowling Alley, the Alexandria Swim Club, and the local Woodbury Walmart. “I know where we are,” she gushed, grinning from ear to ear. “We’re not too far from Carl’s neighborhood in Woodbury Estates! We just drove a different way.”

“Mm hmm,” Carol murmured, trying to hold in her smile.

“You mean the house is near Judy’s?” Mika then asked with a huge grin. 

“Yup!” Carol exclaimed. 

“Were not far away from home after all. I like it already! You should definitely get this house Mom!” Mika laughed.

“Shut up half pint,” Lizzie snapped, rolling her eyes. She was in a ‘teenaged’ mood as Carol called it that morning. “We haven’t even seen the place. For all we know it might look like a rundown shack inside. But I guess that would be perfect for a brat like you,” she laughed.

“Takes a brat to know one, brat!” Mika replied. “And you’re just mad because the house isn’t near your boyfriend Ron’s neighborhood,” she then added, sticking her tongue out at Lizzie.

“Who asked your pot to boil, brat?” Sophia hissed at Mika, immediately defending her twin. 

“Yeah! Who even gave you permission to speak, Brat?” Lizzie hissed.

“Stop calling me brat! Mom!” Mika whined in a loud tone.

“Girls,” Carol groaned with a sigh.

“Shut up, brat!” Sophia hissed, yanking Mika’s ponytail. 

“Yeah! Shut up Brat! And stop being such a snitch!” Lizzie added, yanking her other ponytail.

“Ouch! Mom!” Mika howled, even louder. “They’re pulling my hair!”

“Cut it out, right now,” Carol warned.

“Thought we told you to shut up, Brat!” Sophia whispered.

“You aren’t the boss of me! I can talk if I want, can’t I Mom?” Mika asked. 

“Of course you can Sweetie. Elizabeth, Sophia, leave your sister alone,” Carol said with a sigh. 

“You little...” Sophia hissed and had poised her hand to pull her little sister’s ponytail again then thinking twice when she caught her mother’s eye in the rear view mirror.

“Sophia I said cool it!” Carol said in a no nonsense tone. “That is enough. You’re both acting like BRATS so fix your attitudes and be quick about it... or no one’s going anywhere later!”

“Yes ma’am,” the twins immediately groaned in unison. They DID NOT want their afternoon date plans ruined!

Carol entered the Woodbury Place community and parked a few houses down from her house. Sure enough there were several Builder Brothers vans parked in front and Carol felt giddy with excitement. 

“Which house is it?” Sophia asked.

“That one, with the balloons tied to the railing.”

“Nice!”

“There’s Pop Pop and Gran,” Mika exclaimed excitedly when she saw Dale and his wife Irma parking their SUV just down the block. 

“Great,” Lizzie muttered, rolling her eyes. 

“Come on Drama Queen,” Carol said with a smirk. 

The girls hauled their overnight stuff to their grandparent’s vehicle and after hugs they all headed toward the ‘open house.”

Everyone had positive remarks about the house as they approached the driveway.

“It’s pretty... and big!,” Mika exclaimed. “And I think there’s a pool in back!”

“There’s definitely a pool,” Lizzie said with a grin (her first all morning,) after peeking through the tall fence.

“It’s pretty and big, and it has a pool... and its walking distance from Carl’s,” Sophia said dreamily as she immediately pulled out her phone to text him.

“Sophia Marie Peletier, put that phone away this instant!” Carol groaned. “You can talk to Carl later.”

“Okay Mom, gosh!” Sophia huffed as she stuffed her cell into her bag.

“This house is really beautiful, Carol,” Irma Horvath exclaimed. “I noticed the Builder Brothers trucks out front. I’ve watched their show a couple of times. They must have renovated this place.”

“Yeah Mom, I read about that on the seller’s website,” Carol replied. “It was a ‘fixer upper’ that they renovated. I’m amazed it’s still in my price range after all of these upgrades. Looks like new windows up there and a fresh coat of paint.”

“The girls say there’s a pool out back. I’d love to pop over for a dip on hot afternoons!”

“They really did a number on this place... I must say I’m impressed” Dale chimed in, holding the screen door for them. “I’ve driven past this house before dozens of times and it never stood out, but the landscaping alone makes it the nicest home on the block!”

“I can only imagine how it looks inside,” Carol nearly giggled with a mischievous smirk. “The website said there’s a new kitchen and all new bathroom upgrades.”

“What are the stats? Dale asked.

Carol whipped out a brochure Daryl had printed out for her with the floor plans. “Built in 1970. Split Ranch. $240K, negotiable. 2000 square feet.”

“240K, Carol that’s well above your range, honey,” Dale exclaimed. “You said you wanted to stay under $150K. I mean we’ll help you if need be with the down-payment if you have to have the place, but I don’t want you struggling with such a big mortgage once the twins go off to college in a few years.”

“It says here it was originally $160K but the price went up because of all of the upgrades, Dad. That means fewer repairs in the future so it’s an investment. And it says here it’s negotiable.”

“Ok... go on, dear.”

“Ok, 4 bedrooms, 3 and a half baths...”

“Yes, we’ll all have our own rooms!” Lizzie exclaimed.

“That’s right sweetie, and a big bathroom for you to share, plus an in law suite in the club basement. As you can see there’s a two car garage, and out back a two story deck and an in-ground swimming pool.”

“Let’s check it out!” Mika exclaimed.

Once inside the spacious, beautifully staged living room, they were all amazed; Carol included, it was her first time seeing the house since it was totally finished. She choked back tears of joy, knowing that it was Daryl who’d done a lot of the additional work, and that he’d done it just for her. She knew he was somewhere in the house, she’d immediately spotted his motorcycle when they first pulled up, and it was only a matter of time before she could introduce him to her family. Just then they were greeted by “King” Ezekiel and the camera crew who emerged out of the kitchen area. 

“Morning folks!” Axel then exclaimed as he entered the room doing his little dance, all while pretending to not recognize Carol. “Welcome to 2010 Apocalypse Drive. I’m Axel Dixon of Builder Brothers, and since you’re the first family to arrive today we’d like to videotape your reactions and feedback on the house as you take the tour... for statistical purposes only of course. Is that okay?” he asked Carol specifically with a knowing smile.

“Of course,” she said with a wink.

“Then let’s get to it, shall we?” he replied, returning her wink.


	18. The Ultimate Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carol FINALLY reveals all!

“Good thing were the first ones here,” Irma commented. “No one will be in the way.” Dale shook his head in agreement and Carol only smiled.

Axel led the way around the property, offering details and facts about the house while Eugene the cameraman followed, catching every minute of the tour. Carol’s family all fired questions at Axel in the middle of “oohing and aahing” over the home’s many charming renovations, amenities and décor while Dale inquired about the foundation of the house as well as about the roof, and the other major structures and Axel answered all of their many questions with a patient smile. 

The girls were awestruck over the pool and all of the bedrooms and bathrooms (which all just so happened to be painted in colors they each loved they’d noticed before long!) Irma especially loved the fully renovated galley style kitchen, the laundry/mud room off the garage and the large and comfortable in-law suite in the basement. Dale loved the library/den and the spacious game room complete with pool and card tables, and Carol loved it ALL... feeling herself growing teary eyed more than a few times when she saw all of the additional finishing touches she just knew that Daryl had added unbeknownst to her to make the place special for her and her girls... she just knew that she was going to hug and kiss him all to pieces when she finally got him alone.

When they finally got back to the living room after the tour, Axel turned to them. Anymore questions folks?”

“No,” Carol replied. “I think my mind is made up... but what do you all think?” she said, turning to her family.

“Well Honey, I told you I’d help if you have to have it, but really think it over first. It’s really beautiful I must admit and in mint condition, but I want you to be sure and not make an impulsive decision after one tour,” Dale said with concerned sigh.

“Okay Dad. Thank you for your advice. Girls?” she then asked.

“Mom I LOVE this house,” Sophia gushed. “But can we really afford it?” she then added just above a whisper.

“Yeah! I love it too... but it’s like way over our budget, right?” Lizzie asked.

“It is well over our budget,” Carol admitted.

“Mom I really, really, really love it too! But I don’t want you to have to have to work too hard to get the money! I can be happy in a smaller house if it means you don’t have to go to work every day and night too,” Mika sniffled, hugging her around her waist 

“I’ll be fine, baby,” Carol replied. “Mommy’s no stranger to hard work. I just want you all to be happy.” 

“We will,” Sophia said.

“No matter where we are,” Lizzie replied, linking arms with her sisters and mother.

“As long as we’re together,” they all said in unison. It was a promise Carol had made to them when she’d left Ed and she intended to keep it. “Now, what do you say, Mom?” Carol asked.

“Dear, trust your gut and go with your heart. I must admit I’d love for you to be able to get this place. It’s about as close to perfect as I’ve ever seen! But even if we help you, you’re the one who’s gonna have to live in it, and pay for it in the long run, so do what will make you happy, and what you think will be best for you and your girls,” she said. 

“Mom you’re always right. I’m gonna do just that.” Carol then turned to Axel. “Well, you heard that Mr. Dixon. I’ll take it!”

The girls began jumping up and down and squealing in delight, then asking when she could start the whole bidding and buying process... what happened next however caused ALL of their jaws to drop...

“Okay Carol... Congratulations!” Axel exclaimed. “Here are the deed and the keys!” he replied then tossed them to her. “And on behalf of Builder Brothers, Incorporated... it was so nice doing business with ya, honey!”

“Well girls, I guess it’s official! The house is all ours!” Carol exclaimed. “Go pick out your bedrooms!”

Suddenly everyone’s (except for Carol,) jaws dropped in disbelief as the entire Builder Brothers show team (Including Merle, Daryl, T-Dogg, King Ezekiel and all the others,) came pouring out of the kitchen cheering and applauding. A catering team passed out glasses of champagne to the adults and punch to the girls, while the crew threw confetti and released balloons in the house. Daryl gave Carol the BIGGEST, LONGEST HUG ever and both T-Dogg and King Ezekiel exchanged knowing smirks at their undeniable affection.

The girls and Irma gawked at Carol and Daryl and the rest of the crowd in slack jawed disbelief while Dale looked utterly shell shocked.

“But wait! That’s it?” Dale exclaimed over the fracas. “What about making an offer, the other bidders, the paperwork, your loan application?” he asked Carol in disbelief. “He just gave you the keys!”

“Dad its’ all done! I bought the house MONTHS ago... for $140K... my mortgage is next to nothing... I practically own it outright. Paid for it long BEFORE all of the renovations you see were done! I’m a GUEST OF THE SHOW and EVERYTHING extra was part of the package! There’s even a few thousand leftover for extras and necessities and my episode will premiere on the Home and Garden network in a few months! The footage they caught of us touring the house just now was for the final scenes. SURPRISE! And there's someone special that I want you all to meet...” she then added, pulling Daryl by the hand, and locking eyes with his they shared a sweet smile that said more than words ever could.


	19. Finally

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A happy ending to this sweet Caryl tale...

Carol grasped Daryl's hand tightly and he gave her a reassuring smile. “Mom, Dad, girls... this is Daryl... Daryl Dixon. He’s the man personally responsible for the beautiful renovations to our new house... and a very special friend that I’ve come to care for very much.. and I really hope for us all to be spending a lot of time with in the future,” she added, winking at him. Daryl returned her wink, then turned to the family as they all expressed their heartfelt thanks. 

“Hey folks,” he said shyly. I’ve heard so much ‘bout all o’ y’all... it’s nice to finally meet ya.” 

Dale shook Daryl’s hand as Irma told him that she was a big fan of his on the show and they commenced chatting for a few minutes. Daryl’s shy charm won Irma over immediately and before long she found herself blushing like a school girl when she whispered to Carol how handsome Daryl was. 

Meanwhile, Carols daughters were giving Daryl a ‘once over’ of their own.

“So he’s Mom’s secret boyfriend!” Mika whispered. “He makes her smile a lot so I like him already! Plus he’s handsome... and he painted MY bedroom the perfect shade of eggshell blue,” she added, already calling ‘dibs’ on the space.

“I knew you’d want the blue room,” Lizzie sighed rolling her eyes. “But yeah... this is the guy she’s been texting these past two months!” 

“And ditching us for tonight,” Sophia whispered with a smirk. “I can’t say I blame her. He’s famous... and probably rich! And he’s really good looking... for an old man I guess, she then added. “He isn’t hotter than Carl or anything but I can see why she likes him!”

“He is old but I agree... he’s GORGEOUS!” Lizzie whispered.

“He’s not old! He’s like Mom’s age, right?” Mika asked.

“He’s old!” both Lizzie and Sophia replied in unison, glaring at their kid sister with an annoyed expression while rolling their eyes.

After another couple of hours of Carol making final arrangements with the network officials and scheduling for the movers, her parents took the girls for the rest of the weekend (who at that point were all so excited about the house that they were reluctant to go so soon (even the twins surprisingly,) and Daryl and Carol went their separate ways to avoid any more suspicion about their relationship, then met up at his place later on that evening.  
\----------  
In the wee hours of morning, Carol lay naked and damp with sweat, tangled up in the cool silk sheets on Daryl’s California King sized bed, and utterly exhausted from their repeated rounds of hot sex all night long. He’d pulled her into his strong arms to cuddle as they both dozed off and her cheek rested on his bare, muscled chest. Daryl had been ravenous for her that night as always after they celebrated the open house and she wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. When he finally let her be for the night, he’d hinted something about looking for rings after her show episode premiered and then had immediately drifted off into a deep slumber and Carol smiled as she listened to his steady heartbeat. She felt happier than she ever had in her life. She had it all. Her family was happy and healthy. She had a career she loved. She’d made it through the hard times and now had a beautiful home and a bright future ahead with the man she loved. It didn’t get any better than that!

-Finis


End file.
